According to Chinese resellers, LEGO has closed via authorities knockoff set factories in China due to the unauthorized use of its intellectual property.
There are two areas in the alternative brick set world. Firstly, some brands offer original designs (Panlos, Funwhole…) but also copy the sets—so-called LEGO knockoffs. Many people are enthusiastic about the latter because they get the current LEGO sets for less money.
Things are now getting more difficult for this unofficial market. According to breaking news from China, LEGO has closed several knockoff set factories via official authorities.
LEGO Closes Knockoff Set Factories
The information comes from various Chinese resellers who have been selling these. Among them are Youmko (Barweer sister company), Marstoy, and Jooooy.
According to Marstoy, they received an official notification from the LEGO brand protection about unauthorized use of the LEGO GROUP intellectual property.
As a result, Marstoy is getting out of the LEGO knockoff business and will only sell original China sets. Yourwoob, for example, did that some time ago. Other companies are taking a break. They sell what’s currently in stock but don’t give any info on when the sets will return.
Here are some of the published reseller statements.
Youmko says:
A Letter to All Friends Who Love these KO SetsDear Valued Friends,
Thank you all for your attention to the recent sudden event. After carefully evaluating the production situation at the factory, the YOUMKO team has made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend sales of KO sets. Unfortunately, we are unable to predict when sales will resume at this time, as it depends on a variety of factors beyond our direct control.
However, we are pleased to inform you that we still have a small amount of stock available in our China warehouse as well as in our regional warehouses in the USA, Europe and Canada. These products will be available on a first-come, first-served basis and will not be restocked once they are sold out. Over the next few days, the YOUMKO team will be conducting a thorough inventory count. As a result, in-stock products will be immediately listed on our website, but please note that due to high demand, these listings may become unavailable at any time. If your order is affected by the unavailability, we will automatically refund or cancel your order and notify you via email.
Thank you again for your unwavering support over the years. We eagerly look forward to the day when we can offer you the KO set again. Until then, YOUMKO will be offering interesting other products as well, so stay tuned for exciting updates and announcements from YOUMKO.
Warmest regards,
Youmko Team
Marstoy says:
after a busy Monday, marstoy received a notification that hit us like a typhoon hitting our hometown. last week, several brick factories located at our hometown were suddenly shut down.
This incident involves many factories and has a significant impact. at the same time, marstoy received an official notification from the LEGO brand protection about an unauthorized use of the LEGO GROUP Intellectual Property. in order to ensure the survival of our company, marstoy have to make this decision:
‘marstoy.net will stop selling alter-brick sets and minifigures.’
marstoy will gradually remove these products from our store by the end of August. For orders that have already been successfully placed, marstoy will process and ship them based on the inventory in our GuangZhou warehouse. If there are any inventory issues, marstoy team will notify you promptly via email. hope you can understanding our work!
in the future, marstoy will only sell products from excellent Chinese building block brands, as well as various interesting MOC creations and building block accessories. marstoy will also soon restore the online payment function to bring you a better shopping experience!
Thank you very much for your long-term support of marstoy.net store and for your support of Chinese building blocks!
Jooooy says:
We regret to inform you that due to the recent closure of several factories, our clone sets are facing severe production and supply issues. Some popular clone sets may temporarily out of stock, and the recovery date is currently uncertain.
Sorry for the inconvenience. If you order is affected by stockouts, we will promptly contact you via email to provide a revelant solution.
If this information is correct, Lego has managed to strike a major blow against product piracy.
But it will certainly not kill the black market for knockoffs. When one closes, five more open. That’s what happened when LEGO closed Lepin. Brands like JieStar, Leji… followed. I’m curious to see how things continue here