The LEGO Group Won a Landmark Copyright Infringement Case in China

At the end of 2023, the LEGO Group, one of the world’s largest toy companies, won a landmark case in its fight against counterfeiting products in China.

On December 28, 2023, the People's Court of Huangpu District of Shanghai rendered a judgment on the case "LEGO vs BELA (博乐)”, in which five defendants (the managers and staff of BELA, a Chinese toy company) were sentenced to years in prison for manufacturing and selling pirated LEGO Group products. Meanwhile, BELA and the five defendants were punished with a fine of RMB 645 million (about USD 90 million), which marks a new record for punitive damages in IP criminal enforcement cases in China.

This is not the first battle between the LEGO Group and BELA. According to the judgment, in October 2017, Shantou Intermediate Court made a civil judgment regarding the LEGO Group against BELA for infringing the copyrights of, and committing unfair competition against, the LEGO Group. BELA was ordered to pay to LEGO damages of more than RMB 220,000 (about USD 3,100). After that, instead of ceasing the infringement, BELA continued to manufacture and sell infringing products in a more covert way. The court held that the defendants reproduced or distributed the LEGO Group’s copyrighted artwork for profit without the permission of the copyright owner, which constituted the crime of infringement of copyright under Chinese criminal law.

The criminal proceedings effectively combat intellectual property infringement crimes at the source and protect brand owner’s IP in a more comprehensive and proactive way. The case shows a continuously progressing IP protection system under China’s legislation, as well as the Chinese authorities’ commitment in creating a favourable business environment for international companies.