Kiwi toymaker Zuru has reached the conclusion of its multi-year legal battle with Lego, as the New Zealand courts dismissed Lego’s appeal.

It began in 2023 with the toymaker using the Lego name on its packaging; the Court of Appeal determined this wasn’t an infringement on the brand’s trademark.

“Lego has been a leading manufacturer of plastic building bricks, baseplates and figures since the late 1940s, although the Lego name originated several years before that,” the court concluded.

“Although the patents and copyright Lego once held on its basic brick and baseplate products have long since expired, the registered trade mark ‘LEGO’ remains. 

“Zuru markets their own plastic toy building bricks and related products under the trade mark ‘MAX BUILD MORE’. Zuru’s plastic toy brick products are compatible for use with Lego’s products. 

“Zuru wishes to tell consumers this and have sought to do so through the use of a compatibility statement on the packaging of their products: ‘LEGO® BRICK COMPATIBLE’.”

The court said this statement uses the word mark, but not the well-known LEGO logo. The Judge rejected the argument put forward by Lego that consumers would be misled by Zuru’s packaging, deeming that the MAX mark would be correctly taken as that of the Zuru brand.

“Consumers in the 21st century are not easily fooled, are brand-aware and would not reasonably think Zuru’s products were made by or associated with Lego,” the judges added.