Ever since LEGO’s patent on the brick with tube design we all know and love expired in 1978, LEGO has had to fend off multiple manufacturers. Manufacturers who have tried to replicate their success by replicating their bricks. Brands such as Tyco, Megabloks, K-Nex, Cobi, Best Lock, Kre-O, Coko, Blockmen, Oxford and countless others have tried to grab some of the market share that has been dominated by LEGO. Some have had mild success while others have fallen by the wayside. LEGO themselves started their bricks production after being impressed by the Kiddicraft Self Locking Building Bricks.

Recently, in October 2018, ZURU (best known for their Bunch O Balloons line) ) ran a major campaign to celebrate the release of their own building blocks line called Max Build More.

We did a Google search on the product line of Max Build More and we were surprised that for some products, the Zuru brand is printed at an even smaller size compared to the misleading LEGO print which claims compatibility to LEGO and other major brands. They even include the iconic 2×2 or 2×4 red brick (also a part of every LEGO store’s decor as a supersized brick),  right next to that print. It’s pretty confusing at first glance and we had to do a double take to make sure that LEGO wasn’t releasing a new line. The usage of red, yellow, white and black as the major colours in their packaging isn’t very subtle to say the least.

LEGO logo

We aren’t really surprised to learn that just a few days ago, LEGO has filed a restraining order and copyright infringement trial against ZURU in the state of Connecticut, USA seeking judgement on, among others, for :

1) A judgment that ZURU has infringed the Minifigure Copyrights;
2) A judgment that ZURU has infringed the Friends Copyrights;
3) A judgment that ZURU has infringed the Stud Trademarks;
4) A judgment that ZURU has infringed the Trade Dress;
5) For a temporary restraining order, preliminary and permanent injunction restraining ZURU from selling or offering for sale sale infringing products.

Screenshot from https://buildtothemax.zuru.com/
Studs on Max bricks (from http://www.tubeytoys.com/2018/09/video-and-toy-review-zuru-max-build)

ZURU has previously dabbled with products that are compatible with the LEGO system by producing the ZURU Mayka Tapes (from the successful Indiegogo project, Nimuno Loops)

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here