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Marks & Clerk is one of the UK’s foremost firms of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys. Our attorneys and solicitors are wired directly into the UK’s leading business and innovation economies. Alongside this we have offices in 9 international locations covering the EU, Canada and Asia, meaning we offer clients the best possible service locally, nationally and internationally.
LEGO recently announced their SMART Play system, describing it as their “most revolutionary innovation since the creation of the minifigure”.
United Kingdom
Intellectual Property
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LEGO recently announced their SMART Play system, describing it
as their “most revolutionary innovation since the creation of
the minifigure”. The SMART Play system is designed to bring
LEGO play to life without compromising the physical play
experience.
The SMART Play line-up includes the SMART Brick, SMART Tags, and
SMART Minifigures. The SMART Brick is the core of the SMART Play
line-up. Containing lights, sensors, and a sound synthesizer, the
SMART Brick detects different types of play and reacts accordingly.
The SMART Tags tell the SMART Brick what it is and how it should
play back, while the SMART Minifigures have their own personalities
and react to play differently.
Challenging themselves to make LEGO come alive without the
interruption of cameras and screens, LEGO say they made hundreds of
play prototypes during the development of SMART Play.
This process came with its fair share of innovation. From
building a new positioning system based on wireless charging coils
to developing a bespoke silicon chip smaller than a LEGO stud,
it’s unsurprising that LEGO have filed 25 patent applications
off the back of the development of SMART Play.
LEGO SMART Play will make its debut with the launch of three new
Star Wars sets. It seems fitting for LEGO to launch their
futuristic approach to play alongside the franchise they produced
their very first licensed sets with.
LEGO once again demonstrates the value of a robust IP portfolio.
It will be interesting to see how they choose to leverage their new
IP to drive future collaborations and maintain their market
leadership.
The SMART Play” System is our most revolutionary innovation
since the creation of the minifigure in 1978. Using cutting-edge
technology, it responds precisely to how kids play. In other words,
when you play, the SMART Brick plays back.
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