Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

Brand protection is key for the LEGO Group to fight counterfeit and so it is to create metrics to measure the success of our efforts. For such purpose, a couple years ago I took advantage of a global software we use at the LEGO Group to create statistics that included the number of seized products, the main ports in each country, the IP rights involved in the seizure and the complaint submitted in each case (civil, administrative, or criminal). At a later stage, I improved the system to track the money we recovered in compensations paid by infringers to determine how to best reinvest such resources in our priority Latin American jurisdictions. The initiative was free of charge because we already used the software for docketing purposes, but not for the statistics described.

What are some of the main trends impacting the industry sector you work in in Mexico?

The growth in retail e-commerce sales, toy movies and TV franchise releases, tech toys and increase demand for classic toys.

The e-commerce growth during the pandemic brought the development of new online brand protection strategies to use the tools provided by the e-commerce platforms to fight counterfeit. Toy movies and TV franchise releases made legal teams draft legal contracts to protect copyrights of toy companies, while tech toys came with novelties subject to patent law protection. Finally, with classic toys, big toy companies must compete for trademark and copyright licensing rights.

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company?

The work we do to run an increasingly sustainable business is divided into three cross-organisational impact areas – children, environment and people.

The children area is split between two workstreams: Learning through Play, which includes our efforts to give more children the ability to learn and develop through play, and Responsible Engagement with Children, which includes our efforts to promote children’s rights, safety, and wellbeing.

The environment area is split between climate action, which includes our efforts to reduce CO2 impact and resource use, and circular economy, which includes efforts to innovate in materials and packaging, keeping LEGO products in play and moving towards more circular business models.

The people area is split between two workstreams: responsible sourcing, which includes our efforts to build supplier capabilities and monitor and mitigate supply chain risks, and responsible workplace which covers our work to create an inclusive, safe, and family-friendly workplace.

The lawyer role here contributes with all the impact areas briefly described above, but I want to specifically point out the legal efforts aimed to secure patent rights for our awarded brick prototype made from PET plastic bottles.