April 29, 2004 – LEGO Press Release
Canadian Supreme Court grants LEGO Company leave to appeal

The Supreme Court of Canada has issued a judgment on April 29, 2004 granting LEGO Company leave to appeal its case against Mega Bloks Inc. The Supreme Court generally grants leave only in exceptional cases involving issues of national importance. In this case, LEGO Company has claimed an injunction and damages against Mega Bloks Inc. for passing off Mega Bloks toy brick products as those of LEGO Company.

According to Poul Hartvig Nielsen, General Counsel of LEGO Company headquartered in Billund, Denmark, "this decision gives LEGO Company an important opportunity to present its case to the Supreme Court for protecting its world-famous LEGO® products. LEGO Company welcomes fair competition, but is committed to protecting its intellectual property rights and to safeguarding the public from imitations which tend to cause confusion with consumers."

In July 2003, in a 2-1 split decision, the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal upheld a lower court’s decision in the action brought by LEGO Company against Mega Blocks Inc. The lower court’s decision of May 2002 held that the sale of Mega Bloks' micro brick products on the Canadian market is not a violation of Canadian law despite a clear finding that Mega Bloks’ imitation of LEGO® bricks resulted in confusion among Canadian consumers.

The date for the hearing of the Supreme Court Appeal has not yet been determined.