> Lego bricks are a system. Their website footer says LEGO System A/S, DK-7190 Billund, Denmark. And that in the US systems are not copyrightable
Having the word "System" in the company name doesn't mean anything. But a Lego System does seem to be a thing [0], "The LEGO System means that: all elements fit together, can be used in multiple ways, can be built together. This means that bricks bought years ago will fit perfectly with bricks bought in the future."
I'm not sure what "system" means in a copyright sense but I what Lego seems to mean by "system" is a consistent set of parts and ways for those parts to fit together. If that's what copyright means by "system" you can't copyright that but I think that's what Lego has patented.
The existence of the system would have no bearing on the copyrightability of any work created out of the parts they designed and connected using their system. I can buy a bunch of gray and white Lego, fit them together to make a sculpture that looks like my cat and have a copyright on that work (if it's sufficiently original).
> The existence of the system would have no bearing on the copyrightability of any work created out of the parts they designed and connected using their system.
I would love examples of this -- as I think it's the crux.
I've looked at some case law earlier this week, but I didn't find any specifically calling out systems.
Having the word "System" in the company name doesn't mean anything. But a Lego System does seem to be a thing [0], "The LEGO System means that: all elements fit together, can be used in multiple ways, can be built together. This means that bricks bought years ago will fit perfectly with bricks bought in the future."
I'm not sure what "system" means in a copyright sense but I what Lego seems to mean by "system" is a consistent set of parts and ways for those parts to fit together. If that's what copyright means by "system" you can't copyright that but I think that's what Lego has patented.
The existence of the system would have no bearing on the copyrightability of any work created out of the parts they designed and connected using their system. I can buy a bunch of gray and white Lego, fit them together to make a sculpture that looks like my cat and have a copyright on that work (if it's sufficiently original).
[0] https://www.lego.com/en-us/lego-history/lego-system-in-play-...