Lego announces new designs…or lack thereof

David Brancaccio Nov 3, 2015

A cool idea gone awry at Lego: From time to time, the Danish toy company crowdsources new ideas for Lego kits. This time, there were 13 designs that received the necessary 10,000 votes from Lego-lovers — some very elaborate.

Now, Lego has announced the number of winners; ideas that will go into production. That number … is zero. None passed muster. 

On its website, Lego says this has never happened before, and there’s disappointment all around. Among the failures here: ideas where Lego can’t get the intellectual property rights, ideas too close to existing kits, and ideas that violate its rules about fun building experiences or safety. 

So much for my idea for a Lego scalpel set.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.