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New Bionicle Merchandise (Possible)


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Not sure if this is allowed. Like, legally. (I'm also not sure if, by BZP rules, you're allowed to start a topic about something that you haven't created yet beyond the conceptual stage.)

Additionally, I'm fairly certain that Media is not the right subforum for this. Since you're talking about selling them, I'd say BST, perhaps.

 

I don't even want to know why "trashboat" is in the tags for this topic.

Edited by Chro

save not only their lives


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but their spirits

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If you're selling them for a profit, it's trademark infringement. If the LEGO Group finds out about you doing this, you'll likely get a cease and desist order from their attourney's office. If you continue after that, you'll likely be taken to court for an injunction, which will have a hefty fine you'd have to pay. Just warning you, it's probably not the best idea.

Edited by Meiko

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but if he isn't making any profit from it, and all the money just goes to creating the stuff and shipping it, then it will be fine ;)


Also, I would be interested in a Bionicle Mug ;)

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Disclaimer: This post should not be considered legal advice.

If you're selling them for a profit, it's trademark infringement. If the LEGO Group finds out about you doing this, you'll likely get a cease and desist order from their attourney's office. If you continue after that, you'll likely be taken to court for an injunction, which will have a hefty fine you'd have to pay. Just warning you, it's probably not the best idea.

It's worth noting that I don't think LEGO has any active registered trademarks for these specific products. From my understanding, trademarks are registered for 10 year periods, and must be renewed every 5 years. They can only be renewed if the company has a product which the trademark can defend. Seeing as BIONICLE products have not been sold in nearly 5 years, and only LEGO sets were sold in the last 5 years, I don't think they have a patent on these specific products. I know their registered trademark on BIONICLE cloathing expired. Their trademark on Rock Raiders has also expired, and has since been registered to Data Design Interactive, who is developing a new non-LEGO "Rock Raiders" game.

All of this being said, I don't know if having a registered trademark legally required is necessary to defend it.

Of course, any Bionicle designs and images are still copyright LEGO, and having a registered copyright is not necessary to defend it. So at most you could only call it BIONICLE, without using any official images. It would probably also be necessary to look sufficiently different from Bionicle, so that it is not a derivative work.

It should also be noted that people make and sell custom LEGO sets all the time, and LEGO never complains.

but if he isn't making any profit from it, and all the money just goes to creating the stuff and shipping it, then it will be fine ;)

I don't think it would actually make a difference if he made a profit or not.

Edited by JrMasterModelBuilder

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Disclaimer: This post should not be considered legal advice.

 

If you're selling them for a profit, it's trademark infringement. If the LEGO Group finds out about you doing this, you'll likely get a cease and desist order from their attourney's office. If you continue after that, you'll likely be taken to court for an injunction, which will have a hefty fine you'd have to pay. Just warning you, it's probably not the best idea.

It's worth noting that I don't think LEGO has any active registered trademarks for these specific products. From my understanding, trademarks are registered for 10 year periods, and must be renewed every 5 years. They can only be renewed if the company has a product which the trademark can defend. Seeing as BIONICLE products have not been sold in nearly 5 years, and only LEGO sets were sold in the last 5 years, I don't think they have a patent on these specific products. I know their registered trademark on BIONICLE cloathing expired. Their trademark on Rock Raiders has also expired, and has since been registered to Data Design Interactive, who is developing a new non-LEGO "Rock Raiders" game.

 

All of this being said, I don't know if having a registered trademark legally required is necessary to defend it.

 

Of course, any Bionicle designs and images are still copyright LEGO, and having a registered copyright is not necessary to defend it. So at most you could only call it BIONICLE, without using any official images. It would probably also be necessary to look sufficiently different from Bionicle, so that it is not a derivative work.

 

It should also be noted that people make and sell custom LEGO sets all the time, and LEGO never complains.

 

but if he isn't making any profit from it, and all the money just goes to creating the stuff and shipping it, then it will be fine ;)

I don't think it would actually make a difference if he made a profit or not.

 

LEGO still owns the trademark for Bionicle for the following goods and services: Video games. Clothing for children, namely, t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks and head wear; clothing for men and women, namely, t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks and head wear. Construction toys; toy building elements and connecting links; toy construction kits; toy figures; toy kits containing toy figures and toy construction elements for building human figure, animal figure and action figure robots.

 

The trademark was filed on 28 August 2000, and last renewed on 15 June 2012.

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DISCLAIMER: All opinions and contributions made under this account are based solely on my own personal thoughts and opinions, and in no way represent any of the above groups/entities. If you have any concerns or inquiries about the contributions made under this account, please contact me individually and I will address them with you to the best of my ability.

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The trademark was filed on 28 August 2000, and last renewed on 15 June 2012.

 

LEGO still owns the trademark for Bionicle for the following goods and services: Video games. Clothing for children, namely, t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks and head wear; clothing for men and women, namely, t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks and head wear. Construction toys; toy building elements and connecting links; toy construction kits; toy figures; toy kits containing toy figures and toy construction elements for building human figure, animal figure and action figure robots.

Really? What are you using for a source? A search on ustop.gov turns up the following:

 

 

IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: video games without display. FIRST USE: 20010000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20010000

 

(CANCELLED) IC 025. US 022 039. G & S: [ Clothing for children, namely, t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks and head wear; clothing for men and women, namely, t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks and head wear ]. FIRST USE: 20010000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20010000

 

IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: Construction toys; toy building elements and connecting links; toy construction kits; toy figures; toy kits containing toy figures and toy construction elements for building human figure, animal figure and action figure robots. FIRST USE: 20010000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20010000

 

It's a distinct possibility I'm missing something, as this is one of the worst websites I have ever used (I can't even link to pages on the site). The security of it is also questionable (are they seriousely piping the search query into a Windows executable?)

Edited by JrMasterModelBuilder
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I don't think this should be a problem if you use only original graphics you create yourself and avoid the use of LEGO or BIONICLE logos or brand names. The LEGO Group is hardly a trademark hound when it comes to fan-created products. They COULD legally shut your operation down, but I don't think they're likely to, nor are you likely going to be doing this at such a scale that you'd suffer considerable financial loss if you DO get a cease-and-desist letter.

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All I want to do is make binders stickers notebooks coffee mugs mouse pad ect. I already have them made for myself.

 

Fine. Make all the darn mousepads you want. But selling them isn't the best idea.

 

I doubt that Lego would object to your creations, PrismWind, unless you used one of their existing images which are trademarked along with Bionicle (Hau, three virtues symbol, island of Mata Nui, etc.) A small-scale operation of this sort is unlikely to raise their attention, and fan groups have probably done similar things before.

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but if he isn't making any profit from it, and all the money just goes to creating the stuff and shipping it, then it will be fine ;)

I don't think it would actually make a difference if he made a profit or not.

I'm no lawyer, but I look at this as someone just paying for the raw materials for him, and he does the service for free. Would LEGO have a problem if people sent him their own materials and her performed a free service?

 

Again, I'm no lawyer, but I would think that if no profit was being made, there shouldn't be a problem.

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All I want to do is make binders stickers notebooks coffee mugs mouse pad ect. I already have them made for myself.

Just don't use any wordmark or design that's trademarked.

 

 

The trademark was filed on 28 August 2000, and last renewed on 15 June 2012.

 

LEGO still owns the trademark for Bionicle for the following goods and services: Video games. Clothing for children, namely, t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks and head wear; clothing for men and women, namely, t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks and head wear. Construction toys; toy building elements and connecting links; toy construction kits; toy figures; toy kits containing toy figures and toy construction elements for building human figure, animal figure and action figure robots.

Really? What are you using for a source? A search on ustop.gov turns up the following:

 

 

IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: video games without display. FIRST USE: 20010000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20010000

 

(CANCELLED) IC 025. US 022 039. G & S: [ Clothing for children, namely, t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks and head wear; clothing for men and women, namely, t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks and head wear ]. FIRST USE: 20010000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20010000

 

IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: Construction toys; toy building elements and connecting links; toy construction kits; toy figures; toy kits containing toy figures and toy construction elements for building human figure, animal figure and action figure robots. FIRST USE: 20010000. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20010000

 

It's a distinct possibility I'm missing something, as this is one of the worst websites I have ever used (I can't even link to pages on the site). The security of it is also questionable (are they seriousely piping the search query into a Windows executable?)

 

That only says the clothing is cancelled. The trademark is still live for the purposes listed without "(CANCELLED)" before them according to that. Either way, the trademark is still valid and enforceable by the LEGO Group.

 

 

 

All I want to do is make binders stickers notebooks coffee mugs mouse pad ect. I already have them made for myself.

 

Fine. Make all the darn mousepads you want. But selling them isn't the best idea.

 

I doubt that Lego would object to your creations, PrismWind, unless you used one of their existing images which are trademarked along with Bionicle (Hau, three virtues symbol, island of Mata Nui, etc.) A small-scale operation of this sort is unlikely to raise their attention, and fan groups have probably done similar things before.

 

The mere wordmark of "BIONICLE" is still a registered trademark of the LEGO Group so he couldn't even put the name on it.

Edited by Meiko

--

Meiko - @georgebarnick

LUG Ambassador and administrator at Brickipedia

News reporter and database administrator at Brickset

Administrator at BIONICLEsector01

 

DISCLAIMER: All opinions and contributions made under this account are based solely on my own personal thoughts and opinions, and in no way represent any of the above groups/entities. If you have any concerns or inquiries about the contributions made under this account, please contact me individually and I will address them with you to the best of my ability.

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