Court rules that Dutch budget store Wibra must stop selling LEGO-like products

Wibra has been ordered to stop selling plastic block sets of animals and flowers that look like Lego products. The Dutch budget store chain infringes LEGO's trademark and design rights with these plastic block sets, the court in The Hague ruled. Wibra will have to pay 10,000 euros per violation in the future if it happens again.

The conflict was about a collection of packages that Wibra sold to make plastic flower figurines. Lego claims that these looked too similar to their Botanical Collection.

It also did not look as if Wibra made great efforts to hide the fact that the plastic block sets were imitating those made by the Danish toy company. The Dutch store chain’s accounts on social media referred to the block sets as “Lego flowers.”

This is the reason that LEGO demanded that Wibra stop selling the products immediately. The retail company promised to do so, but the court's ruling shows that LEGO was still not satisfied with the matter after contact with Wibra and filed summary proceedings.

The preliminary relief judge has now ordered Wibra to provide LEGO with all information available about the origin of the counterfeit blocks within two weeks. This includes the distribution channels for the imitation LEGO. Wibra must also retrieve the plastic block sets from business customers. The costs for this are borne by the retail company.

LEGO is known for fiercely combating counterfeit products with lawsuits. Building blocks made by the Danish company cost hundreds of euros on some occasions and cheaper counterfeit products would put the company’s earning model under pressure.

Wibra has said that they respect the court’s decision. "We have been accommodating and cooperative from the beginning and have taken immediate action. The products in question have been removed from our stores," the company responded by email.

According to Wibra, it is not yet known what should happen to the products withdrawn from the market. "We have previously proposed donating the remaining batch to a children's hospital, for example. We would think it would be a shame if the products had to be destroyed while there are enough people we can make happy with them," a spokeswoman wrote.