|
Post by wisdomknight on Jan 14, 2016 11:24:57 GMT -9
|
|
|
Post by Vermin King on Jan 14, 2016 12:28:33 GMT -9
Those type of connectors have been used for decades on 'press out' models, so I doubt they can be copyrighted
|
|
|
Post by wisdomknight on Jan 14, 2016 12:31:54 GMT -9
|
|
|
Post by wisdomknight on Jan 14, 2016 12:46:39 GMT -9
well Im guessing if MegaBloks can make their bricks completely compatable with LEGO bricks then I assumed this would be impossible to patent or copyrigh.
|
|
|
Post by Vermin King on Jan 14, 2016 13:02:16 GMT -9
I was actually thinking of the punch out books I would sometimes get as a kid
|
|
|
Post by wisdomknight on Jan 14, 2016 13:43:32 GMT -9
I Googled for these but for the life of me I cannot find anything like that.
|
|
|
Post by bravesirkevin on Jan 14, 2016 23:58:41 GMT -9
Copyrights can only be applied to creative works, so there's definitely no copyright there. It is possible to patent methods of doing things (and that's the only thing you actually can patent) but I doubt that there's any patent on these that's still in force. Patents have a relatively short life span, and they're limited geographically, but that method of connecting things has been around for centuries so between that and the fact that they haven't claimed a patent anywhere that you'd see it immediately, I'd say it's safe to do your own version.
Now there is one last thing to be aware of: Trademark. Trademark is a legal protection of a company's identifying elements. The purpose of the law is to prevent unscrupulous companies from generating business by passing themselves off as a representative, affiliate or member of another company. You could not use their name for the clips if you made your own version, and you couldn't advertise using any of their identifying marks. You'd probably also be best off giving your own clips a slightly different shape.
|
|
|
Post by wisdomknight on Jan 15, 2016 6:26:18 GMT -9
Thanks Kevin, appreciate the info.
Im also wondering is it even neccessary to make the shape different? I mean take a look at MegaBloks vs LEGOs.
|
|
|
Post by bravesirkevin on Jan 15, 2016 7:53:59 GMT -9
Thanks Kevin, appreciate the info.
Im also wondering is it even neccessary to make the shape different? I mean take a look at MegaBloks vs LEGOs. The thing about those bricks is that they were not actually invented by the Lego corporation, but had already been around for a few decades before Lego started producing plastic toys. The patent had presumably already expired by the time Lego stepped in. What Lego did have control over was their trademark. (That's the reason that they're so adamant that you call their bricks bricks instead of legoes so that people calling megabloks legoes don't land up genericizing the brandname.) Because of this, if you're holding a Lego brick in your hand you know instantly that it's an actual Lego brick and if you're holding something compatible made by one of their competitors you know that it's not made by Lego. That's also the reason they won't directly say that they're compatible with Lego, even though they are. It's not so much about completely changing the design as it is about making your version distinct enough that it doesn't look like you simply traced over their design.
|
|