Is it a complete coincidence that less than a week after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Lego can’t claim the design of its blocks as a trademark, LaCie offers a new stackable hard drive with a very familiar-looking design?
Yes, yes — LaCie’s a French company, their biggest market is probably the U.S. — but legal entanglements, even they’re just in the great white north, are never a plus.
Meanwhile, the court decision is a glimmer of light in the dark, dark world of IP law. Years from now, the catchily-named Kirkbi AG and Lego Canada Inc. v. Ritvik Holdings Inc./Gestions Ritvik Inc. (now operating as Mega Bloks Inc.) may well be recognized as a sort of minor Roe v. Wade for cash-strapped parents (and nostalgic computer geeks).
I’m tempted to get one of the drives (and a truckload of Mega Bloks) just to make the gesture. Hey, do they have a Duplo hard drive for my kid?
