The Lego Group
| Lego A/S | |
|---|---|
 Logo used since 1998 | |
 | |
| The LEGO Group | |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Toys |
| Founded | 10 August 1932 |
| Founder | Ole Kirk Christiansen |
| Headquarters | LEGO Campus, Billund , Denmark |
Number of locations | 42 offices (2017) |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | |
| Products | Lego |
| Revenue |  74.3 billion kr.[3] (2024) |
| 18.7 billion kr.[3] (2024) | |
| 13.8 billion kr.[3] (2024) | |
| Total assets | 68.7 billion kr.[3] (2024) |
| Owners | |
Number of employees | 31,282[3] (2024) |
| Parent | Kirkbi[5][6] |
| Website | lego |
Lego A/S,[7] also known as the Lego Group, is a Danish construction toy manufacturer and media company based in Billund.[8] It manufactures Lego-branded toys, consisting mostly of interlocking acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic and rubber bricks. The Lego Group has also built several amusement parks around the world, each known as Legoland, and operates numerous retail stores.
The name Lego is derived from the Danish phrase leg godt, meaning "play well". The company was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen.[9] In the first half of 2015, the Lego Group became the world's largest toy company by revenue, with sales amounting to US$2.1 billion, surpassing Mattel, which had US$1.9 billion in sales.[10][11] As of 2025, the company is owned by the Kristiansen family via their family office, investment firm Kirkbi.[12]
History
[edit]The Lego company was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen,[13] a carpenter whose primary business of producing household goods had suffered due to the Great Depression. Initially producing wooden toys, the company later developed a system of interlocking bricks.[13] Manufacturing of plastic Lego bricks began in Denmark in 1947. After a fire in the woodworking department, Ole's son, Godtfred, decided to stop the production of wooden toys and solely focus on plastic products and the Lego system.[14] In 1961, Christiansen built the beginning of Billund Airport to facilitate the sale of Lego toys around the world.
In North America, Samsonite managed the Lego brand from 1961 until 1972 (United States) and 1986 (Canada).
The name Lego is a contraction of the Danish words "Leg godt" (English: "Play well"). However, the name also means in Latin either "I collect", "I compose", "I choose", or "I read". These additional meanings, the first three of which are very relevant, only made sense when the company started making plastic blocks with studs (Lego blocks) that could be put together.
In 1995, the company's ruling Kristiansen/Christiansen family began running the Lego Group through the Kirkbi investment firm.[15][16]
The basic Lego brick has remained unchanged since its patent, and this enduring design has been associated with the toy's widespread popularity. These bricks have become a recognizable part of childhood in many parts of the world. The Lego Group, which has remained family-owned by the Christiansen family, was among the first inductees to the U.S. National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998. Additionally, it was recognized as "Toy of the Century" by several organizations in 2000.[17] Lego bricks have been utilized in various creative projects, including large-scale replicas of famous monuments such as the Eiffel Tower and Mount Rushmore, as well as modern art installations.
In the 21st century, the Lego brand expanded into various electronic games, including a series of Minifigure-based action-adventure games inspired by popular cultural franchises such as Star Wars, Batman, Marvel Comics, and the Harry Potter series. The brand also released The Lego Movie (2014), a computer-animated feature film centered on the adventures of Lego minifigures. A spin-off, The Lego Batman Movie (2017), focused on Batman, introduced in the original film.[18]
In May 2025, the company moved its North American headquarters to Boston.[19]
In January 2026, the Lego Group announced the Smart Play system at CES, introducing Smart Bricks, Smart Tags, and Smart Minifigures with embedded electronics designed to enable interactive play without screens. The system uses near-field magnetic positioning and a Bluetooth-based protocol called BrickNet to allow components to recognize and interact with each other.[20]
Trademark and patents
[edit]Since the expiry of the last standing Lego patent in 1989,[21] several companies have produced interlocking bricks that are similar to Lego bricks. The toy company Tyco Toys produced such bricks for a time; other competitors include Mega Bloks and Best-Lock. These competitor products are typically "compatible" with Lego bricks, and are often marketed at a lower cost than Lego sets.
One such competitor is Coko, manufactured by Chinese company Tianjin Coko Toy Co., Ltd. In 2002, Lego Group's Swiss subsidiary Interlego AG sued the company for copyright infringement. A trial court found many Coko bricks to be infringing; Coko was ordered to cease manufacture of the infringing bricks, publish a formal apology in the Beijing Daily, and pay a small fee in damages to Interlego. On appeal, the Beijing High People's Court upheld the trial court's ruling.[22]
In 2003, the Lego Group won a lawsuit in Norway against the marketing group Biltema for its sale of Coko products, because the company used product confusion for marketing purposes.[23]
Also in 2003, a large shipment of Lego-like products marketed under the name "Enlighten" was seized by Finnish customs authorities. The packaging of the Enlighten products was similar to official Lego packaging. Their Chinese manufacturer failed to appear in court, and thus The Lego Group won a default action ordering the destruction of the shipment. The Lego Group footed the bill for the disposal of the 54,000 sets, citing a desire to avoid brand confusion and protect consumers from potentially inferior products.[24]
In 2004, Best-Lock defeated a patent challenge from The Lego Group in the Oberlandesgericht, Hamburg.
The Lego Group attempted to trademark the "Lego Indicia", the studded appearance of the Lego brick, hoping to stop production of Mega Brands. On 24 May 2002, the Federal Court of Canada dismissed the case, asserting the design was functional and therefore ineligible for trademark protection.[25] The Lego Group's appeal was dismissed by the Federal Court of Appeal on 14 July 2003.[26] In October 2005, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that "Trademark law should not be used to perpetuate monopoly rights enjoyed under now-expired patents" and held that Mega Bloks could continue to manufacture their bricks.[27]
Because of fierce competition from copycat products, the company has always responded by being proactive in its patenting and has over 600 United States–granted design patents to its name.[28]
Financial results
[edit]
In 2003, the Lego Group faced a budget