Toymaker LEGO Sues Non Profit Organisation

by greg1usa | March 24, 2010 at 09:18 pm

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Lego the creator of the lego brick is suing a community outreach organisation whos aim is to develop social leaders and volunteers.

LEGO who's base is in Denmark filled a lawsuit on 03/19 against the outreach group started by alumni at The University of Minnesota over trademark infractions.
The outreach group called Project Legos which stands for Leadership, Empowerment, Growth, Opportunity and Sustainability was started by Kyle Rucker in August of 2005 during his sophmore year at The University of Minnesota.

His vision was to encourage young people to take ownership of bettering thier communities, themselves and thier worlds.

Through its work, Project Legos envisions a future where all young people are challenged to take ownership of their personal value while understanding and exercising their ability to create change in themselves and their communities.

LEGO claims the name Project Legos is a trademark violation and is suing for $75,000.

The Danish company filed a federal lawsuit against Project Legos last Friday, alleging a litany of trademark-related infractions, according to the court complaint. The value in question is more than $75,000.

In the lawsuit Lego claims that the non proffir organization is bennefiting from the LEGO name. Lego sales over the past ten years were more than $ 1 billion.

A LEGO spokesman said it recognizes the work project Legos does but needs to protect its trademark.

LEGO spokesman Mike McNally said his company recognized and appreciated the work of Project Legos. But the company must "take reasonable measures to protect our trademark,'' he said.

"LEGO is a word that has no other meaning in the English language,'' McNally said.