Cobi, Star and Megablocks frustration.

[smuddger]

Today I have snapped and with anger feel the need to vent with everyone on here. I buy and sell bulk boxes of lego to fuel my addiction, well I buy in bulk break and sell on bricklink. I am amazed that lego have not won a copyright case over megablocks but at least it is easy to tell the cheap quality and colour of megablocks a mile away. My anger comes with Cobi and Star, these are without doubt a clear rip off of lego even down to the 4 letter word on the studs. Now Cobi can usually be identified by the colours except for the black which is my real beef, and now finding plates which again can catch you ouch with star on them. Now i am fully aware that great grandma who bought a cheap set for christmas didnt know any better, but it makes a real dent in the kg weight of a box of lego. I can live with a small percentage of foreign but when a box advertised as 100% genuine lego turns up with 3kg lego 7kg foreign its going to get sent back. The seller has got all upset and defensive and maybe doesnt know the difference but why put 100% lego. ha rant over Thoughts from you guys and girls does anyone seriously build the other construction bricks

[IrishGuy66]

This is a "Lego" investing and collecting site. Do you really think anyone will vote for an off brand?..... just sayin.

[smuddger]

No but will help my frustration by seeing the no votes, was light hearted statement and if anyone wants the bits I throw away I can save it for them lol

[LowestFormOfWit]

Well, here's my 2 cents. I used to be an off brand hater like yourself, and coming from a bulk buying standpoint I can see why it upsets you, but I don't think you can blame anyone but the seller in your case. I doubt COBI or STAR or MegaBloks intention was to throw wrenches into your bulk buy and part out trade. Onward, I don't beleive LEGO has any grounds to sue these off-brand blocks because their patent ran out IIRC, which is why I think all these new off brands are popping up (Best Lock, Walmart's crappy whatevers, etc). Regarding MegaBloks, I do use them in my MOCs. Sparingly, but they have their uses. I build mini mechs for a LEGO tabletop game and MegaBlocks has done some lines with some neat parts. While the quality is obviously sub-LEGO, used correctly they are hard to tell apart. KRE-O is a fairly recent off brand that I also quite like, with part quality being better than most MegaBloks, though still below LEGO. As a builder, I view my elements as my drawing tools. The off brands make certain parts that LEGO hasn't that are quite useful, such as plates with studs on both sides. I hope you find a use for your off brand stuff that doesn't involve the garbage can, but keep in mind when buying in bulk that LEGO is a common term given to any building brick by laymen sellers.

[akohns]

I feel your pain. I buy lots of loose legos. I pretty much assume there is a lot of foreign bricks and some trash when I'm making an offer (I buy mostly on CL).

[Blackjack]

Lego's patent expired years ago, so we're stuck. :/

[smuddger]

lowestform I know you make valid points and I know some people build some of the other sets. Just today was a bad day. I do throw it away no one here wants it, if I take it to the charity shop it finds its way back on ebay, im sure some people bulk their sales out with it. Guess its just my old eyes are starting to struggle to see it, spec savers me thinks

[LowestFormOfWit]

When I get back home I'll put some of my "brickblend" MOCs that use MegaBloks and Kre-O. Maybe show everyone some examples of how to properly use them. MegaBloks' Dragons Universe line was particularly nice selection wise.

[smuddger]

I have looked at some of the sets in the stores and they look cool but they are worthless for resale. My boy got one last xmas, i heard some sobbing from his room and his model wouldnt stay together, say no more lol

[sadowsk1]

Maybe that's why megablok and other clone brands can get away with making what they make, because they aren't really like Lego...

[IrishGuy66]

I am a Lego Bricks purist. Whenever I'm building something, it's either Lego or nothing.

[akohns]

I am a Lego Bricks purist. Whenever I'm building something, it's either Lego or nothing.

I'd love to see your invisible MOCs make of "nothing"

[IrishGuy66]

I'd love to see your invisible MOCs make of "nothing"

I must admit that I don't do too much building, but that's because I'm too busy collecting and investing in sets.

[LowestFormOfWit]

The attached photos below are highlights of my most recent company of Mobile Frames for the tabletop game Mobile Frame Zero: Rapid Attack, many of them using off-brand parts to enhance the overall look. This is a direct response to a thread on the horrors many have over non-LEGO building bricks, and I'm here to tell you most can play together nicely.

The full gallery of my specifically "Brickblend" MOCs is HERE.

[LowestFormOfWit]

Some highlights of other ones I've done, again, attached below.

[Mos_Eisley]

Nice work. I don't think people say they can't possibly work together, it's just that most would prefer not to mix them. A lot of builders are purists who will only use original LEGO elements in their builds. The quality of many of the other brands is also often questionable.

[JoshTX]

So if Lego had a patent at one point, why didn't they renew it?

[JoshTX]

Those are pretty cool, thanks for sharing. The mech that uses Kreo-helmets as shoulders is ingenuity exemplified. Good job.

[LowestFormOfWit]

Nice work. I don't think people say they can't possibly work together, it's just that most would prefer not to mix them. A lot of builders are purists who will only use original LEGO elements in their builds. The quality of many of the other brands is also often questionable.

I'm fairly active in a lot of LEGO building groups on Flickr. I'm fully aware of the many purists. I used to be one, until I found all I was really doing was being a snob and limiting the palette I use when building.

Quality is an interesting issue. Obviously LEGO is still the highest quality building brick, and still my favorite. However, that's not to say they are perfect. The build quality of their pieces has been slipping. I have a graveyard to split and broken pieces that continues to grow, and it's usually the same offenders. Headlights, Cheese Slopes, 1x2 Tiles, Clip Tiles, etc.

MegaBloks used to be very poor quality, but the lines in recent years have been of a higher quality. Kre-O is actually even better quality than MegaBloks and is fairly new on the block (har har), again, below LEGO quality, but definitely useable.

I think there's a lot of unjustified hate, and blind faith in LEGO purity, but that's my personal opinion. I don't aim to "convert" anyone, but simply give a glimpse of the other side.

[Huskers1236]

I merged this with the original post about off brands, no need for another topic. Those are nice mechs that you've made there.

[LowestFormOfWit]

I merged this with the original post about off brands, no need for another topic. Those are nice mechs that you've made there.

I figured General Collecting and Investing didn't really make sense for my post....but I guess General is a pretty general classification...

I couldn't get the images to upload into this thread either, for some reason, so thank you I suppose.

[Huskers1236]

I figured General Collecting and Investing didn't really make sense for my post....but I guess General is a pretty general classification...

I couldn't get the images to upload into this thread either, for some reason, so thank you I suppose.

Your post was in direct response to the thread about off brands, and you even mentioned in that thread that you were going to post them, so it makes sense to put them together.

[emes]

So if Lego had a patent at one point, why didn't they renew it?

Because patents are assigned for limited periods of time.

[Grolim]

Personally I don't like them. But has anyone looked into whether any of the off-brand sets appreciate in value after they retire? I have no idea on that, but maybe it should be considered.

[Darth Lego]

Because patents are assigned for limited periods of time.

Emes is right. Patents last for only a certain number of years before they expire. (All U.S. patents filed before June 8, 1995, expire 17 years after they are approved and all new patents approved after that date expire in 20 years.) I read some information about the Lego patent(s) and it's been quite the fight. Megabloks was sued by Lego for violating Lego's trademark and Megabloks won. (Lego claimed their trademark included the bricks, the courts said patents, not trademarks, apply to bricks.) The final ruling was the 8-peg design of the original Lego brick "performs a technical function and cannot be registered as a trademark." Wikipedia.

Here's some information about patents from various websites.

Patents only last a certain number of years; when they expire, anyone can legally manufacture the product. What they can't do is use the trademark. As an example, think of companies that make theirown cola drinks to complete wth Coke and Pepsi - they can't call their product Coke or Pepsi, but everyone knows what the product is modelled on.....

Eurobricks.

Yes, the original LEGO patents expired decades ago, but they are always putting in newer patents on new designs for new bricks. If you go to the European Patent Office (EPO) website and search for patents with "lego" as the applicant, you can see them all, going back to 1976 or so. Here is a link for you.

http://worldwide.espacenet.com/searchResults?PA=lego&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP&ST=advanced&compact=false

For each patent, you can also click on the links under "also published as" to see additional images...

Brickset.

Lastly I found out some countries are more strict when it comes to enforcing patents. (Some countries have banned any Lego compatible bricks from being sold in the country while others don't do anything.)