Lego, the Danish toy maker lost an infringement case on their home ground, when Denmark’s Supreme Court ruled that Ms. Louise Lego could continue to call her Copenhagen gallery, Gallery Lego, and to host her website at:
http://www.galleri-lego.dk
The ruling is not surprising, in that generally people may continue to use their own names, even when registered as trademarks by others.
An Israeli company, Lego Irrigation, establised in 1906 and with exports to over eighty countries, did not bother to register their name as a trademark. Lego Juris A/S the Danish toy building block manufacturer managed to force Lego Israel to rename, and Elgo Irrigation was born. Every mold for a sprinkler, dripper or coupling with the name Lego thereon, needed to be retooled.
Lego Irrigation was as widely known as the Lego brick company, and was founded 28 years earlier, with the Danish company starting using the name Lego only in 1934. Arguably, irrigation is a more significant technology than children’s toys. There is a lesson here. If your trading name is valuable, protect it.
