Using licenced parts.

[Dalek Caan]

What is LEGO's stance on using licenced pieces in non-licenced sets? I was under the impression that this was a complete no-no, but whilst looking on LEGO.com I came across set 7955, the Kingdom's Wizard, I noticed that Norbert the dragon (HP) was there. I suppose Norbert is a rather bad example, but there were some other examples of this more recently.


SO is it allowed? Thanks in advance Steve.

[TwistedFate]

I'm no expert in licensing issues, but it's obvious that not every piece in a licensed set is a licensed piece, otherwise we couldn't get 2x4 black bricks anywhere because they appear in Hogwarts (to use an extreme example). I wouldn't think they would need to license something like the dragonlet. It's not uniquely identifiable as an HP entity outside of an HP set. The only reason you know it as Norbert is because you know the set it came from. I didn't know it was used in an HP set so I didn't associate it with Norbert when I got the Wizard. However, drop a minifig with a lightning bolt scar into a random scene and almost everybody will think Harry Potter immediately, so I'm sure that head is licensed.

I know you said that was a bad example, so in order to generalize my explanation a bit better: I don't think it has to licensed if it can't be explicitly identified as an element from the licensed franchise.

[Robzula]

Lightsaber blades and hilts as well as battle droid bodies are used everywhere, so I'd guess it's just those pieces that couldn't possibly be anything but what they're meant to be from the license, like the new SW blasters or any minifig parts, like Twisted Fate said.

[Draykov]

Pieces that are more likely to be recognized as part of a licensed theme: a Darth Vader helmet, a Gringot's bank sign, Batman's cowl...these are things you can pretty much count on not seeing scattered throughout non-licensed sets. Something as mundane as a baby dragon, while it may have made an appearance in the HP line before, is not recognizable as Norbert, pet of Hagrid, alone. That piece could represent many baby dragons.

[JPCJedi]

...I'd guess it's just those pieces that couldn't possibly be anything but what they're meant to be from the license, like the new SW blasters or any minifig parts, like Twisted Fate said.

Not all minifig parts..... But most of them, yeah.

Actually, my big question is why her face wasn't used for Mon Mothma.

[Dalek Caan]

Out of print? I wouldn't assume that it is easy for LEGO to start re-printing an old head very easily, and maybe there are issues with using specific liscenced heads across themes?