Do I have any control over what Lego and other companies do? No. So I don't stress over it.
Lego has a bunch of lawyers looking after their interests and they are walking hand in hand with Disney in trying to make the world a better place for them and screw the competitors. They can do their job without my input, approval or not.
Your average Lego purist - and you're anything but average - has a very insular view of the industry.
A few years ago, it was all about copying Lego, quality wasn't up to scratch, blatant IP breaches were commonplace.
Those were the days when I religiously set aside all the non-Lego bricks and put them into a "Lepin colony" where the bricks that were odd to the touch, not quite right in colour, didn't fit well etc. went.
Now, I don't bother. They are all made in huge robot factories to the same standards with the same ABS plastic. They all fit, they all work, regardless of brand. Those few that don't, don't sell.
Lego has long since ceased to be the creative spirit. Yes, Lego designs get copied but they are in the minority nowadays. Most sets on the market are not from Lego. Even the MOC copies are becoming more ethical. Noted designer Ohsojang is now licensing his designs.
Look through something like BrickMeUpScottie.com - Scott does not sell copies of Lego designs and there is no shortage of fabulous sets on his site. I have two coming this week.
Minifigs will be the next battleground for Lego. The shape is both copyright and a trademark so other brick companies will have to change. Many of them already have: the Sluban and Cobi minifigs - among others - have their own shapes and are more poseable and playable than the blocky Lego minifigs.
Kopf and WM are producing minifigures that have Lego's copyright shape but are fabulously detailed, down to printing on the sides of the figures and detailed kanji printing and decorations on tiny swords:
The kimono-sleeve arms on some of the minifigs is an innovation and one that works well for these anime figures. A specialist area you won't find Lego touching.
Along with military themes such as armoured vehicles and Napoleonic soldiers.
I'll buy the odd Lego set when they do something I like, but I'm more drawn to the sets that Lego doesn't make. These are more interesting, scarce, and collectible.
I may not be able to control the big brick companies but I can definitely tailor my buying and building preferences to themes I like and I cannot say that I love Lego's mass-market approach. If everyone has a street full of the same modular buildings differing only if they put the Detective Office next to the Brick Bank or Birch Books, then what's the point?
I've got a Classic Bike Shop, a Union Church, and an Urban Village set and that's more than any Lego purist can say.
Ultimately, it comes down to what people like to buy, build, and collect.
Say that the world is divided into Lego purists and the rest and that's a blinkered view. That's like all the Americans who see the world in "US and them" terms; they are missing the big picture.
