25
votes
Accepted
Why is LEGO usually uppercase?
No, it's not an acronym.
The name 'LEGO' is an abbreviation of the two Danish words "leg godt", meaning "play well".
All-caps is how the LEGO company asks to have their brand treated.
Using ...
- 13.3k
18
votes
Accepted
Does TLG own BrickLink?
Yes, TLG has acquired Bricklink. There have been multiple news, FAQ's and interviews posted with regards to a future of the website. You can read some of them on Bricklink as well as LEGO webpages. ...
- 22k
18
votes
Accepted
Is there any legal LEGO compatible bricks?
All LEGO compatible bricks are legal. At this point LEGO no longer has a patent on the key features of the LEGO system regarding shape, measurements and connectivity.
This doesn’t hold true for ...
- 16.9k
18
votes
Accepted
Which bricks are still protected by copyright / trademark / patent law?
This is a complex topic. If you are considering designing a LEGO-compatible product, you may want to consult a lawyer who is an expert in this area. With that in mind, here's my attempt at an answer.
...
- 39.4k
17
votes
Accepted
Where did Octan come from? Why was it chosen?
Octan, is simply Octane in Danish, which is a chemical in and associated with gasoline making it a sensible name for a fictional petroleum/energy company.
The LEGO Group (under pressure by a ...
- 1,911
15
votes
Accepted
What would total cost of the LEGO® Star Wars collection be in MSRP to date? [Dec 2015]
According to data collected from Brickset, the total MSRP of all Star Wars sets to date is $18,933.76 USD. This includes a total of 508 sets. I simply used the CSV export feature on Brickset to put ...
- 39.4k
15
votes
Accepted
Are there any army-related LEGO toys?
The LEGO Group does not directly create modern military sets.
A LEGO representative gave the following reason:
Are there any chances that Lego will ever start producing modern day warfare Lego, with ...
- 13.3k
15
votes
Accepted
What is a novelty element?
This was a new term for me. It was clarified on the LEGO Ambassador Network by a member of the LEGO Community Team:
We have a lot of internal words that are not always known to the public. TLG ...
- 39.4k
12
votes
Why is LEGO usually uppercase?
Alexander O'Mara's answer is correct, however I'd like to add the reasoning behind LEGO's desire to impose such strict rules on their name's usage.
According to the copyright laws generic terms can't ...
12
votes
Accepted
What is the total number of sets that LEGO has released?
It might be impossible to give the precise number simply because some older sets are yet to be found and new ones are being added with a slight delay.
These three are major websites having the most ...
- 22k
11
votes
Accepted
Why do Star Wars sets include the Disney logo/brand name while Marvel Super Heroes sets do not?
I emailed TLG:
These changes are different as it is how Disney would like it be displayed. Prior to a set release, each set goes through a number of reviews. One of these, is our designers show ...
- 226
9
votes
The controversy around clone brands
This question looks more like a covered (and loaded) opinion piece, but I will bite. Although LEGO may have been inspired by the Kiddiecraft prototype, LEGO bricks are not direct copies of the ...
- 10.2k
9
votes
Is there a way to plan and organize your LEGO project like a GitHub hosted software?
While you could indeed manage the project with a tool like GitHub (using the Issues feature), you might be better off initially managing the tasks through a tool like Trello which allows you to create ...
- 19.5k
9
votes
Why do older bricks have greater clutch power?
This is a partial answer (or theory).
The moulds for most of the basic bricks have been changed over the years to use less plastic while (hopefully) retaining clutch.
2 x N bricks were given ...
- 2,544
9
votes
Who can use "LEGO Official Store" for an online LEGO store?
LEGO has some arrangements in Asia (I think currently it's only in Asia, but I don't think anyone has said it can't be done elsewhere), where third parties get a permission/license to call stores ...
8
votes
The controversy around clone brands
Page was owner of the patent only for Great Britain, allowing LEGO to use the design worldwide. Buying a "rival" company (Kiddicraft) later on is nothing unusual in business history. Therefore, ...
- 2,605
8
votes
Accepted
What is Rebuild The World?
It's "a campaign to help nurture the creative skills of the next generation", launched by LEGO on September 17, 2019.
From the LEGO website:
Today, the LEGO Group and musician Mark Ronson ...
- 21.1k
8
votes
How many LEGO bricks exist in total?
It does not seem as if it would ever be possible to come to a definitive assertion—or even a sufficiently precise approximation—of "how many LEGO bricks exists." For the English Wikipedia article "...
- 81
8
votes
Accepted
Who are the Lego Certified Professionals?
November 2021 update
New LCP in Russia has been announced - Vladimir Golubev.
Number of LCP's is now - 22 (listed below). TLG has details on all of the members, except Vladimir. You can find more ...
- 22k
7
votes
Accepted
Is using the term "Legos" always wrong?
You can say "Legos" if you want to. But for The LEGO Group it's an important matter, because if people start saying "Legos" about similar products produced by other companies, LEGO might lose their ...
- 1,678
7
votes
Accepted
Overview of online LEGO discussion forums?
The main discussion boards for teen and adult LEGO fans are as follows:
EuroBricks Forum - this is one of the oldest and most established LEGO fan forums with a huge number of discussions going on at ...
- 10.2k
7
votes
The controversy around clone brands
I think that the whole issue is a bit complex.
With clone bands, there are many things to consider:
Are they producing original set designs, or are they copying LEGO set themes and designs to some ...
- 13.3k
7
votes
Is there a way to plan and organize your LEGO project like a GitHub hosted software?
I'll address some points from Zhaph - Ben Duguid's answer:
While you could indeed manage the project with a tool like GitHub (using the Issues feature), you might be better off initially managing ...
- 171
7
votes
Which is more environment-friendly: LEGO bricks or Mega Bloks?
There are multiple ways to look at this question, but in any case, probably LEGO.
Production
LEGO has been prioritizing sustainability as of late, with all of their electrical uses and more already ...
- 13.3k
7
votes
MOCs: A question about using LEGO trademark
If you read the Fair Play Brochure linked from the Fair Play policy, you will see more detailed sections covering "Attempted Association" and "Product Copying". The reason you're ...
- 19.5k
7
votes
Accepted
How do I join the LEGO Ambassador Network?
LEGO Ambassador here. There is an onboarding process happening every couple of months and you essentially have to get noticed by LEGO to get invited. You can also get referred by another community ...
- 86
7
votes
How does The LEGO Group view 3D printed parts?
They would obviously prefer it if you bought the parts from them.
If it's for personal use, not many people will know, and TLG probably don't want to spend much time (and money) on it, if they find ...
6
votes
Selling custom LEGO image mosaics using original LEGO bricks without breaking LEGO's Fair-Use Policy
First of all, if you are serious about this business, go to an IP lawyer who can take this up for you and give you a much more confident answer than the bunch of us LEGO fans can :)
LEGO's Fair Use ...
- 16.9k
6
votes
Accepted
Who can use "LEGO Official Store" for an online LEGO store?
As far as I am aware there are 3 types of LEGO stores:
Owned and operated by TLG.
Licenced by TLG to 3rd party to operate under LEGO brand. In this group (most likely) your official region ...
- 22k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible