Bluey, and how to solve the LEGO Ideas problem

The LEGO Group and BBC Studios have today announced a new partnership merging the globally adored world of Bluey with the fun and creative possibilities of the LEGO® universe for the first time ever.
The partnership introduces an exciting collaboration with six new LEGO Bluey sets to appear in 2025 across the LEGO 4+ and LEGO DUPLO themes, inspired by the animated TV series Bluey. Bluey follows a loveable, inexhaustible, Blue Heeler dog, who lives with her Mum, Dad and her little sister, Bingo. Bluey uses her limitless energy to play games that unfold in unpredictable and hilarious ways, bringing her family and the whole neighborhood into her world of fun.
The partnership aims to create equally fun moments of imaginative roleplay and creativity for families as they build, connect and play out their favourite scenes from the show. The six new LEGO Bluey products will be revealed this spring.

[monkey_scout]

It really is a complicated situation. On one hand, 4+/Duplo themes only take the LEGO Group a year or so to create, when my first Bluey project was made almost 2.5 years ago. On the other hand, like some others have already mentioned, this could have been on the horizon for a while, and they could have struggled to get the rights from BBC. I don't want to blame them for stealing my design or idea just yet, because we have yet to actually see the sets or minifigures. I am very disappointed that it won't be my set being released, but I am also super excited to finally get my favorite show turned into official LEGO sets. IF they do end up copying anything from my designs, I can't say I would try submitting anything else to the LEGO Ideas platform. However, that is what you sign up for when submitting projects to the website. As stated in their terms of service: all rights are given to the LEGO Group for the next 3 years after a project is rejected or deleted. This means they can do anything with it even after rejection. Thank you for vouching for my design, but we will just have to wait and see. (Also, I'm not a child)

[Mark-gqei]

I can’t agree with you here - Bluey is the biggest TV programme in the world. The toy line does gangbusters. Regardless of the fan design, they would’ve been neglecting their job if Bluey wasn’t on their radar, especially as a Junior/Duplo line.

[MartenFerret]

See, that's the problem. The designer made what's effectively a modular building when we all know Lego will give Bluey the Animal Crossing treatment: just a facade of a building and a couple of figures to interact with it. You're not going to get a 1700-piece house from the 4+ line (any thinking person would conclude this).

[AA-ldzh]

Thank you for bringing attention to Jared’s build. He dedicated a lot of time and effort creating it.He understood the terms when he submitted it. (He was 15 when he first submitted and is now 18. It has been a long journey!

[joenic]

There's no way LEGO wasn't trying to get the Bluey IP for a while. The fan submission has nothing to do with this process. Making a massive, detailed Bluey set doesn't even make sense. Yeah, he did a good job, but he is not entitled to anything.

[kergineto]

You cant say that a lego ideias project was responsible for bring bluey to lego. Bluey is bigger than this, its like Mario...

[Beetlemeyer]

The Designer got 1500$ dollars worth of Lego sets; I feel that’s pretty good.

[SerperiorBricks]

I.P. Sets should be banned from LEGO Ideas. Problem solved.

[BenSwain]

His design is fantastic, and I hope he does get some kind of kudos for it. I'll say that probably one of the hardest things when the sets come out will be all the adults snatching up the sets and kids having troubles getting them. I say as an adult that is excited to buy them.

[memyselftheone]

I honestly disagree with the whole premise of this video. It's a very slippery slope. In a perfect world with nice people only, what you're suggesting could work. But it's not perfect. Stuff like that could lead to Lego being sued left and right if they give an inch.

Also, to call Jared a 'child' is manipulative gaslighting in my opinion.

[jasonkovald]

On one hand I think Lego is in no way obligated to give any sort of recognition for Ideas submissions, they can whatever they want to do and no matter how much passion a submitter puts into their Ideas project - it still remains simply a fan project, they are giving their own time on their own free will and nobody owes them anything. On the other hand, if Lego know they are going to do a theme, might as well remove it from the list of allowed Ideas from the moment they know they are going to do it, which would mean it should have been marked as unavailable for at least a year if not more, so the fans don't have to end up "wasting" their time, even though for anyone who likes their hobby, it's never a time wasted.

[popculturehero]

With a licensed property. Lego group has to wait for licensor approval first.
And the BBC is really prickly to deal with. Though they have made some Doctor Who sets before. So its not like Lego group has no connection to them.

The fan creators really have not gotten a lot of credit since the early ideas sets, like I remember the exo suit having a book that talked about the process, and the fan designer visiting the lego group to refine the design with the available library of pieces. Truly a collaborative effort.

Still If the Lego Bluey product is vastly different than the ideas design. Then I think its just a case of the Bluey brand being bigger than the ideas market can contain.
Their probably going to put out multiple sets and polybags. Probably Bluey Duplo.

[ACLProps]

It's becoming increasingly difficult for fan designers to not overlap with Lego. Despite making more sets than ever, Lego seems less willing to take risks on smaller unproven franchises like Voltron or Doctor Who. So its become this unbelievably weird balancing act of, making sets based on franchises that are big enough for Lego to consider, whilst also praying to God it's not big enough for Lego to have already planned it. They definitely need to come up with some solution because this is far too common now, what happened with the Snow White set was disgraceful.

[logansmith]

Nah bad take. His design is an ENTIRELY different market from what they're going for, they likely already were in talks, and he almost certainly had no effect on their doing this.

[NinjaHelpdesk]

Nice one Brickfanatics! I agree: justice for Jared! Matt, I love all your ideas - large and small - for how the Lego Group could recognise Jared’s work.

[custarddragon]

i think Monkey Scout's Bluey set should be apart of the IDEAS line, as i don't think a 4 year old would build that massive house with the car. It may appeal more towards a teenage base like maybe 14+ or 16+ with the IDEAS line. But not under 4+ or the DUPLO line.

[rexhutchinson]

I can't agree with your video Bluey is huge and the idea it would only be popular because of 1 person really is a push . People were making star wars mocs well before 1999 should we be crediting them for the star wars theme . Bluey would of been a consideration anyway for being so popular

[aslamc]

Well, now, at the very least, I feel like I have to watch some Bluey. I’m an adult, I don’t have any kids, but I have friends with kids, so I’m well aware of its existence and how much parents like it, but I’ve never actually watched it myself. Super cute though, from the little bits that I have seen.

[maddadbricks]

The terms of IDEAS contain clauses that say we must not under any circumstances go after LEGO for taking our ideas and that the designs belong to LEGO upon submission for a period of 3 years after expiry or deletion - even with evidence of copying by them because they won't consider any evidence on the basis that LEGO set design takes too long for there to be meaningful copying.

Giving any credit at all to a fan designer would be the kind of evidence they wouldn't want to exist.

[birdpoop]

No disrespect to Jared but who isn't to say that this collaboration wasn't years in the making? Look how long it took lego to get peppa pig sets out and that show isn't nearly as it was. Jared made a moc of an insanely popular property that lego probably was already working on making a whole theme for, I don't think lego owes Jared much here tbh. Maybe if it was a niche ideas submission and lego went and basically copies it and makes a set I would understand, but in this case it's bluey. On top of that like you said lego is most certainly not going to make their sets anything like jareds moc. If I submitted a lego ideas set based on a popular ip and that ip got a whole theme I wouldn't feel the need for recognition I would be ecstatic.