Europe’s top court has stripped the Rubik’s Cube of some of its EU trademark protection, opening the door for manufacturers to replicate the puzzle.
The European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday the shape of the three-dimensional rotating cube should not have been trademarked because it is necessary to produce a “technical solution” — meaning the shape is inherent to its technical function — and therefore can’t be monopolized.
Some 10 million cubes, invented by Hungarian Erno Rubik in 1974, are sold every year.
The case was reminiscent of a 2010 ECJ decision, which ruled the shape of a Lego brick could not be trademarked on similar grounds.
The case caps off a legal saga that began in 2006, when German manufacturer Simba Toys applied to the EU Trademark Office to have the 3D Rubik’s Cube trademark canceled.