"Wedges" for potato wedges, “Lotto” for gambling, “Dynamit” for explosives and “Flip-Flop” for sandals. All these former brands have become synonyms for the respective products through everyday use. One also speaks of generic terms, since these terms are generally used for the respective product, even if not the explicit brand, but only the product is meant. For the trademark owner, this transition to a generic term is very annoying, as it means that they lose their trademark rights.

Lego also seems to increasingly fear that the term ‘Lego’ will become a generic term for building blocks and that Lego will thus lose its trademark rights. This is also shown by Lego's recent legal dispute against the company ‘Betonblock’. The company ‘Betonblock’ produces moulds for concrete that are designed so that they can be stacked like building blocks. In an advert for these moulds, ‘Betonblock’ compared the concrete blocks made with them to the well-known Lego bricks. Lego sees this as an infringement of its trademark rights and is demanding that ‘Betonblock’ no longer compare or advertise its concrete moulds with the Lego brand.

It remains to be seen how the proceedings will turn out and whether the Lego brand will be declared a generic term.