- Mega Brands
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Mega Brands, Incorporated 
Type Public company Industry Toys Founded 1967 as Ritvik Toys, Inc.
2002 as Mega Bloks, Inc.
2006 as Mega Brands, Inc.Headquarters Montreal, Quebec, Canada Key people Marc Bertrand, CEO
Vic Bertrand, COOProducts Toys Employees 1000 Website www.megabrands.com Mega Brands, Incorporated (TSX: MB), formerly Mega Bloks, Incorporated, is a publicly traded children's toy company. Mega Bloks is the name of their most popular product, a line of construction set toys. Mega Brands, Inc. distributes a range of toys, puzzles, and craft-based products. [1]
Contents
History
In 1967, Victor Bertrand and his wife Rita founded the company as Ritvik Toys, Inc. (a portmanteau word based on a combination of Rita and Victor). Ritvik was amalgamated with Ritvik Holdings Inc. on June 30, 1998.[2] On March 19, 2002, the name was changed from Ritvik Holdings Inc. to Mega Bloks, Inc. Currently, the founders' sons Vic Bertrand Jr. and Marc Bertrand are CIO and CEO, respectively.
On June 15, 2006, following the acquisition of several brand names not associated with construction brick toys, the company again changed its name, this time from Mega Bloks, Inc. to Mega Brands, Inc.
In May 2011, four "past and current executives" were accused by the Quebec regulator Autorité des marchés financiers of insider trading with respect to share dealings in 2005, the accused denied any wrongdoing. [3]
Lego lawsuits
Mega Bloks building block (above) and Lego building brick (below)The Lego Group has filed law suits against Mega Bloks, Inc. in courts around the world on the grounds that Mega Bloks' use of the "studs and tubes" interlocking brick system is a violation of trademarks held by Lego. Generally such law suits have been unsuccessful, chiefly because the functional design of the basic brick is considered a matter of patent rather than trademark law, and all relevant Lego patents have expired. In one of the most recent decisions, on November 17, 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld Mega Bloks' right to continue selling the product in Canada.[4] A similar decision was reached by the European Union's Court of First Instance on November 12, 2008 when it upheld a EU trademark agency decision following an objection by Mega Bloks against a trademark awarded to Lego in 1999.[5]
On September 14, 2010, the European Court of Justice ruled that the 8-peg design of the original Lego brick "merely performs a technical function [and] cannot be registered as a trademark". With this being the highest European court, Lego's fight to preserve the design with trademark, as well as patent protection is over.[6]
References
- Footnotes
- ^ "Mega Bloks Selects Aras Innovator Version 7 to Build on Product Development Quality and Cost Performance; Leading Construction Toy Company Chooses Aras for Development Cost & Quality", Business Wire, July 25, 2005, http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_July_25/ai_n14815819
- ^ patent.gov.uk[dead link]
- ^ "Toy firm execs facing charges", Montrealgazette.com, http://www.montrealgazette.com/firm+execs+facing+charges/4768406/story.html
- ^ Mega Bloks' Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada via CanLII.org
- ^ "Lego loses trademark ruling in EU", nytimes.com, October 12, 2008, http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/12/business/lego.php
- ^ Montreal Gazette summary of euro court case decision[dead link]
- General sources
- KIRKBI AG and LEGO CANADA INC. v. RITVIK HOLDINGS INC
- Mega Bloks Prospectus for 2002 share offering
- Press release. Link to the announcement of the agreement by which Mega Brands, Inc. began using software developed by Aras Corporation.
- Lego loses long EU trademark battle with Montreal's Mega Brands September 14, 2010 Montreal Gazette Business Blogs
External links
- Official
- Unofficial
- Blok City - A Mega Bloks reference site detailing old and new sets.
- Bricker - Mega Bloks reference site for set information and reviews aggregator.
- Media
Categories:- Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
- Companies based in Montreal
- Companies established in 1967
- Construction toys
- Toy companies of Canada
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