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CHINESE POLICE HAVE dismantled a ring accused of manufacturing some $30 million worth of counterfeit Lego sold across the country.
Police earlier this week raided the premises of Lepin — a Chinese toymaker manufacturing Lego knockoffs in the southern city of Shenzhen — arresting four people, Shanghai police said yesterday.
“In October 2018, the Shanghai police found that Lepin building blocks available on the market were extremely similar to that of Lego,” the statement said.
The toys were copied from Lego blueprints and sent to a factory in Shenzhen to be manufactured before they were sold all over China.
“Across more than 10 assembly lines, over 90 moulds had been produced… (police seized) some 630,000 completed pieces worth more than 200 million yuan ($30 million),” the statement said.
Images from raid — posted on official law enforcement social media accounts — showed moulds and boxes that looked remarkably similar to lines produced by the Danish toy giant.
A Star Wars knock-off is called “Star Plan”, while sets released in conjunction with the new “Lego Movie 2″ have also been copied and sold under the name “The Lepin Bricks 2″.
The counterfeit products could be a safety concern for consumers, said Lego’s China and Asia Pacific vice president Robin Smith, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Foreign companies have long complained about lax intellectual property enforcement in China where counterfeiting is rampant.
In an attempt to end its trade war with Washington, Beijing has pledged to clamp down on intellectual property infringements.
The Danish toy giant in February opened its first flagship store in Beijing — which features replicas of the Forbidden City made of plastic bricks — and has two other shops in Shanghai.
Lego has in recent years seen a renewed popularity thanks to premium collectors’ editions and a movie tie-up.
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If you had switched on the location services you could find that brick in a jiffy. Then again I suppose anyone could track the phone location, hack into it, turn on the camera, record everything. Follow you on Facebook, take your credit card details and all your stored passwords and PIN’s. There’s a lot to be said for the brick.
*cough* HTC
That’s the exact same reason I won’t buy a laptop. I remember the old typewriters, weighed as much as a small car, and you had to practically JUMP on the keys to get them to work…
Was playing with a typewriter over weekend – what a lovely feeling! The sound must have driven the clerks demented though!
In saying that, it would lull you into a nice snooze. Or is that just me on a Monday morning?!
I’d say you’d have super-powerful fingers after a few week using one!
*sigh*
I really enjoy Nick’s columns, but why do I get the uncomfortable feeling that we’re now descending into ‘click-bait’ territory? Please don’t let this thread be another litany of ‘my one is better than yours’…
Wait for it…….fanboys are lining up.
Nick, who gives a curse. I spent 2k punts plus Vat on one of those. They were great for someone on the move but I can understand that their use in a prison was limited
I remember seeing one of those bricks, late 80′s I think. It was the size of a small car but boy did it look cool. Can technology keep going at such a rampant pace into the future? It’s actually quite scary to imagine what tech will be in our homes in 25 yrs from now.
Never mind your home, what will be in your body in 25 years.
Why does the journal give this guy so much time?
I think he writes good articles!
I think he writes good articles!!
Nick writes very good articles, and most importantly, they’re entertaining, the views speak for themselves
As an ex con he has to be extended the olive branch that all other minority groups receive on this website. Never forget how many lives this man ruined.
Good man Tom. Olive branch, lives ruined, so much irony in one statment.
We’re lucky to have a commentator who knows the business inside and out.
I’ll agree this article is a bit below par though.
Nope, he writes whimsical sentimental claptrap.
Dead right. its bloody huge so is Galaxy S3, light and flimsy looking. Galaxy Note is worse. I have a Sony Ericsson, it a perfect size and does the exact same thing as the Top High Range Smartphones.. ?660 for new IPhone 5 on pay as you go. I can buy a new laptop and a new midrange android smartphone for the same price. Ridiculous!!!
Not sure I understand the point of this article. Apart from reviling us with tales of Nicks halcyon days and his distain for new technology? The ‘I used to ‘ave a brick phone’ story is an old one, as is the tired theme of ‘I’m out of touch, with technology and I love telling everyone about it’. I’m not sure how any of this qualifies nick to discuss the release of the iPhone 5? I’m not a fanboy and find apples constant incremental releases kind of boring.. But if your going to discuss something like privacy and the mobile phones affect on it try picking a tech journalist to write it??? I’m kind of surprised at the journals choice of coverage on this, article reads like a Kevin Meyers asshat moment.
Can someone please explain to me what a “Kevin Meyers asshat moment” looks like?.
A thinly veiled advertisement for the latest iphone. And possibly for the building suppliers too :)
So somebody has gotten old and doesn’t embrace technology shocker!
So what, I am sure people thought mobile phone back in the day was not needed. It was really cumbersome, you had to carry a spare battery too.
Modern smart phone is light weight and versatile. Happy to have one and as a business expense it is cheaper to me.
I need to use one now.
Nick, how about putting your genius to writing about the virtues of a fountain pen…. I’ll help!
Eee still don’t really know why are you not buying that phone even after reading this article. Is it because of money you will spend on it? Or because there is no point because soon enough there will be a new one? Or because you will be too easy to reach? Or from a totally different reason that you have not wrote about?
Just asking.
People who keep upgrading (whatever that may be phone,pc,laptop,tv cars etc) really dont care about the environment at the end of the day. Because there old one gets thrown in the dump.. Bigger and bigger dumps across the world. In a resourced based economy items would be built to last not to make a yearly profit margin.
Time for change and the change is coming. Zeitgeist.com
Hey Nick you can’t afford one you owe to much money…
have your say