Trying to upload a new model and ran into this.
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Lego is not just a word, itās a trademark that should not be infringed upon. Look at this as a sign of positive progress that can eventually take the 3D design world out of the wild west lawless state.
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āSilly Rabbit, bricks are for kidsā¦ Legos are for profitā 
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Oh I know, Iām shocked it was even allowed in the first place. Just did a test upload on 2 other popular sites and they still allow it for now. Guess Bambu got a letter. 
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Unfortunately itās impossible to edit profiles that are made for models with the forbidden L word in them.
Have had to delete and recreate a few to change them.
Why are we not able to use Lego as a tag? I have some very popular models that I cannot edit now because of this. If you are not going to allow Lego as a tag for new models, then donāt let people search for it either, that way I can remove it from my models and not miss out on the traffic
No one is seaching for ābrickā, why would they they want a lego model. I have a ābrickā model on my profile but no one knows to search for brick so it sees little traffic. If I am not allowed to use the tag lego then please add any ābrickā tagged models to the search term lego
No company wants to get into the world of the litigious Lego people.
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Back in the day Lego decided that THEIR bricks are best and deserve proper protection.
When they became a global hit and counterfeit bricks started to appear on the market not just the bricks and Lego name got additional protection but the entire concept.
The company still allows people to refer to LEGO but not to use the word LEGO in any context that is not genuine LEGO.
For example:
Not that long ago you could just upload your vector files for a laser cut display cabinet for Lego people.
You were also allowed to upload, for example, a model for TPU tyres of a Lego monster truck you put together.
With China now copying Lego sets already before the original has reached all global markets and offering them for about half the price in our retail shopsā¦
There was some user on a big 3D model site with tons of uploaded models.
Mainly custom things you can fix to the Lego system using their protected designs.
I mean, whatās the point in designing custom bricks or entire walls if you would have to glue them to your Lego bricksā¦
None of these designs were created to replace an original or to copy it.
All fully custom and for rather specific uses, they did not even get many downloads.
Lego however not only forced the hoster to remove all of the models but also requested the userās personal details for a legal case.
Copyright and trademark violations can have serious consequencesā¦
The hoster refused based on privacy reasons and because for each and every single one of the models the user clearly stated āLego COMPATIBLEā, āNOT and official LEGO productā and that it as a CUSTOM addition for the models he creates using ORIGINAL Lego bricks.
I think the only think that really saved the user was being located somewhere in Indonesia and still being way below the legal ageā¦
Many people in our creative communities keep complaining to the company for years now.
While the majority agrees that copyrights and trademarks are vital they also state that going hard core on people offering creative additions to the Lego world is neither fair nor in the interest of creativity.
What Lego does is exactly what the movie and music industry did and still tries to do - punishing the enduser while the real issue can be fixed.
China offers one on one copies of basically all Lego sets you can think of, even those no longer available as originals.
But Lego canāt do anything about it because western copyrights and trademark protections have no meaning in China.
If you check the export volumes of Chinese bricks you realise the financial losses for Lego are severe.
The intellectual or financial damages by ALL custom creators out there offering their models wonāt even be noticed.
But if the company allows those people to get away it would mean giving the green light on saying it is ok to copy their protected designsā¦
Sad world we are in ā¦
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Old case, new things and all a bit lengthyā¦
If you are interested in corporate greed, control and such read on, otherwise move on and just accept that unless you have their permission that Lego wonāt let you use their name, brand or anything related and that all major sites will make sure you wonāt make a mistake 
Long story but no real solution for creators wanting to use the word Lego
A friend of mine, a HUGE Lego fan, asked me if I could print him some custom bricks with names on themā¦
And lucky me (or him) asked "WHY do you need names on Lego bricks ?
He makes some āpocket moneyā these days building models for other people.
Yes, some people love Lego but either canāt put them together or canāt afford the time.
His great idea was to include some custom bricks for the people so they can stand out with a personal touch.
Letās forget about the problem of turning printed bricks into something as clean and shiny (at least for the visible surfaces) as the originalā¦
I tried to explain to him that if he would advertise this custom service Lego would certainly come after him, probably resulting in his bulk discounts to be wound back or removed.
Ever tried to explain to your little kid why they canāt play with YOUR toys because they are ācollectors itemsā ?
His reaction was quite similar LOL
Thinking I just donāt want to do it for a slab of beer or such he asked a designer at work and got his first custom bricks the same day.
From there it all went a bit south very quickly.
He tried 4 different 3D printing services and they all declined to print it due to possible infringement notices looming.
And so he had the great idea to contact the company to actually ask for permission to use bricks with the names on them as specified by the customerā¦
āOh, no problem, may I have your builderās number please?ā
My what?
āThe registration number for your Lego builderās accountā¦ā
Needless to say he had no clue that there is licensed builderās out thereā¦
And without this status he was told that Lego canāt supply him with custom bricks for his private projects.
Should have left it there, said thank you and continued to just send out the models without any custom bricks, at least without advertising this service on this homepageā¦
His solution was to get an engraving laser and to simply engrave the names onto original bricks coming from the model kit.
Engraved through a sticker, filled with REAL leaf gold and then polishedā¦
Looks fantastic indeed.
Worked well for about a year, mainly thanks to having on the website āCan laser engrave your name or a custom text on the modelā, no pics though, only upon request and after someone bought his building skills.
Then he got an infringement notice from the companyā¦
With that some nice pictures of his creations - all taken during a Lego show and uploaded by someone on social media with the citation of the builderās name 
He was accused of intentionally using the Lego brand to provide an unsanctioned and unsupported service damaging the brand.
Mind you that he only ever sold nation wide, strictly no exports due to the hassles and costs.
And only for strictly private use of the models.
Either way he was left with the choice of stopping his services ASAP and to request the manipulated bricks back for an exchange of a matching standard one - or to prepare for a lengthy court battle.
Out of about 40 custom bricks he managed to get back 18, with the rest of his customers either refusing or having gifted the model to someone.
Lego kindly agreed upon getting these 18 bricks to no take any legal action, given he would not violate their trademark(s) again.
They did offer him an official brick builder support a few month after, citing his great work and support for people physically unable to build their models deserves recognition - go figureā¦
He still offers custom bricksā¦
But now there is no homepage anymore, just word to mouth promotions and discounts for those referring his services to new customersā¦
And of course is is water slide decal āstickersā coming from a laser printer - allowing for even more colourful customisations without violating any of Lego vital Tās & Cās - after all it is just stickers and in no way related to bricks or his model building work
This case happened in the late 90ās and since then Lego has upped the game, the same way Disney and other more than popular companies did.
But while you wonāt have to fear a law suit for selling a printed hulk you created from scratch in Blender or such, Lego will get you eventually if you mess with their name, bricks or anything related to it.
What most people donāt know though is that Lego has started to grant people a certain level of support for their creations IF they include an affiliate link to an authorised Lego shop.
Not just the local supermarket, and official storeā¦
Meaning if you offer like some custom ships and rescuers to re-created a scene from after the Titanic went down and include the link for the Titanic model Lego might be inclined to allow it.
Also means you have to first request this through their official channelsā¦
One massive catch though: You will have a bloody hard time even if Lego would grant you to officially offer or sell you creation.
For starters those hosting sites for 3D models wonāt let you use the word Lego in context with bricks or anything related to it.
Even posting a custom self to ādisplay your Lego peopleā will get flagged.
Adding affiliate links is not easy either and if they go to an official Lego server the bot patrol make sure you wonāt able to get it posted as planned.
You might be able to one day reach a human in their support team and can try to state that you do have the consent from the companyā¦
To hear that they still wonāt allow it because it would other people with this consent make upload other Lego related creation - a total nightmare for the support to explain why some users can do this while they are not allowed toā¦
Use one of our well know online market places and you face the same issueā¦
Even Fleabuy can play hardball if they want to and you sell more than a few timesā¦
And like the hosters they are not impressed by your authorisation because you did not register as a power seller, do not affiliate directly with the company and only have the authorisation for your services but not to use Fleabuy as a selling platformā¦
Short answer is that the bricks themselves are not protected anymore. The name itself is, and they have every right to ask you or anyone not to freely use their name. This is not greed or big bad stepping on the little guy. This is their IP, and you have NO right to it outside of making the bricks.
IMHO they are stepping on the little guys. Because we have some rights though : Faire Use
- Compatibility claims ā Compatibility claims arise when a party makes a statement that its products or parts are suitable for use with another brandās products. These statements qualify as nominative fair use. source