Xingbao on Aliexpress: http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/NRJIMBm
Lego vs Lepin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKEW7Uzi_nQ
What does the future hold for Lepin?

Lepin is a Chinese manufacturer of fake Lego. They resell Lego set designs and instructions, but they change the logo and ship them with their own bricks. Check out my other Lepin videos if you want more information, i’ll leave a link to them down below. There’s a lot of controversy among fans of Lego about whether Lepin is a good idea to get discontinued sets cheaply, or whether it’s just counterfeit and illegal. Well Lego have made their position clear. Nearly a year ago, they sued Lepin in China for producing imitation Lego.

So why is Lego annoyed? Well as one senior Lego executive said, Lepin has copied a large number of the current Lego set range. We’re not talking about brick design here – Lego has tried and failed to copyright their bricks, apart from their mini figures. Most likely, we’re talking about artwork, logos and model design. They’re particularly worried that the Lepin sets look so similar that people might be confused or buy Lepin thinking they’re actually getting Lego. I can tell you that I’ve seen people selling fake Lego in my country that the untrained eye would not be able to identify. Also, in a recent BBC interview, a Lego executive was not able to tell the different between real and a fake minifigure. Also, Lego has recently opened a factory in China so they’re trying to protect their new business and Lepin know that they’re not going to be messed with

In about two months time, The Chinese courts will give their first decision about whether Lepin is allowed doing anything illegal. Until they decide anything, Lepin is allowed to advertise and sell their products. Without getting into the trustworthiness of Chinese courts, what happens if they find in favour of Lego and stop Lepin? Well many people have said that Lepin will just start a new company under a different name and start again. In fact, Lepin has already done exactly that. I recently discovered a new Chinese company called Xingbao which it turns out is owned by the same parent company as Lepin. Unlike Lepin, they’re not selling Lego designs, instead they’re licensing the designs of respected MOC creators – so the customer gets a high quality model and they’re not ripping Lego off. So maybe Lepin will concentrate solely on Xinbao if they get banned from selling their kits.

What if Lego lose their court case? Well they lost another court case in the 90s so it’s not impossible. They could appeal or they could take another approach. I know for a fact that Lego are actively trying to remove Lepin from sale on places like eBay, and I’ve also heard that many countries are stopping and confiscating Lepin packages when they arrive in a country. So it could be that they can’t stop Lepin but they can stop you from buying them.

Do you think Lego will win? What do you think Lepin will do if they’re stopped from making kits? Would you ever buy a Lepin kit?