This summer, our legal team helped provide guidance to recognized AFOL communities about one of our most cherished trademarks, the LEGO Minifigure. Since the announcement in June, we have received quite a few questions and even more concerns. Due to that, we wanted to share publicly the official wording from our legal team.
Please note that the intent behind the message is that of support. If you are customizing LEGO Minifigures with 3rd party logos, names of organizations, and other trademarks you are taking a risk.
Official wording
Customized LEGO Minifigures with printed 3rd party logos, names of organizations, and trademarks are not allowed. It’s not acceptable to use of the registered Minifigure trademark in combination with 3rd party symbols. The reason for the rule is that a trademark cannot simultaneously serve as an exclusive, representative symbol of two different entities. The ability of the Minifigure to serve as a distinctive LEGO brand symbol is reduced when a Minifigure is also printed with the name, logo, symbol, or other representative indicia of another entity. Left unchallenged, such use by third-party entities could put our rights in the Minifigure at risk and could eventually result in the loss of our company’s exclusive rights. This is something that we cannot risk.
Therefore, we must request that the community refrain from printing any 3rd party logos, names of organizations, and trademarks onto LEGO Minifigures, and refrain from using, ordering, distributing or selling Minifigures in such customized versions.
We understand that the AFOL Community would still like to celebrate their community events and activities via use of customized items and are pleased to confirm that according to current corporate policy fans are free to print graphics on LEGO brick elements, not figures, for personal use only.
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