please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article s lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents . please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article . please discuss this issue on the article s talk page . january 2016 this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . february 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message this article may require copy editing for grammar style cohesion tone or spelling . you can assist by editing it . february 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message mega brands inc. type subsidiary of mattel industry toys stationery and crafts founded 1967 ; 49 years ago founders victor and rita bertrand headquarters montreal quebec canada key people marc bertrand ceo vic bertrand cio 1 products construction toys message boards activity kits art materials school supplies writing instruments wood products puzzles brands board dudes locker dudes mega bloks mega puzzles rose art write dudes revenue 405 million est. fy 2013 2 number of employees 1 700 2014 2 parent mattel website megabrands.com mega brands inc. formerly mega bloks inc. is a canadian children s toy company currently owned by mattel . mega bloks is the name of their most popular product a line of construction set toys with other brands including mega puzzles board dudes and rose art . the company distributes a wide range of toys puzzles and craft based products . as of 2014 mega brands bloks held second place in the 4 billion construction building sets category . 2 contents 1 history 1.1 ritvik holdings 1.2 mega bloks 1.3 mega brands 2 pop culture connections 3 lego lawsuits 4 references 5 external links history edit ritvik holdings edit in 1967 victor bertrand and his wife rita founded the company as ritvik holdings rh a toy distribution company ritvik was a portmanteau word based on a combination of rita and victor . rh began by distributing toys made outside of canada . the holding company also facilitated contracts between foreign brands and canadian manufacturers . 3 ritvik later became a vertically integrated company as it expanded . the company added plastic injection molding operations design operations tooling manufacturers and marketing services . the company had a leading share of the plastic injection molded market by the early 1980s . 3 wanting to expand beyond canada victor bertrand took an interest in construction block sets and saw room for growth despite them being an industry staple since the early years of the 20th century with batima block released in 1905 in belgium . with lego being the leading construction toy bertrand chose to make a similar set . bertrand ignored friends and advisors as he figured he had two advantages in launching mega bloks . he aimed for jumbo sized bricks for the toddlers which lego bricks were not designed for and he felt his expertise in injection molding would give him a price advantage . 3 at 1984 trade shows ritvik showed the mega bloks line in the us and canada . immediately a hit mega bloks had generally large sales in canada a 1 million sale to toys r us and were available most anywhere in the two markets in 1985 . several multinational companies had made offers just after the trade show for distribution rights buying either mega bloks or ritvik . 3 by 1989 mega bloks were in 30 countries and popular in europe the us and canada and up to 30 play sets were available . a piano set with mega blok compatible keys for the pre school age was released in 1988 . in 1989 ritvik sold all of its other toy and plastics lines . 3 a mega bloks micro line was released in 1991 that were compatible with or a clone of lego bricks . this finally placed ritvik and the lego group in direct competition . soon ritvik was sued by lego canada for unfair competition since lego s brick shape patent had expired for supposed confusion caused between its micro mega bloks and the lego line . the lawsuit dragged on for years as sales grew worldwide at an average 70 % a year until mid 1990s but finally ritvik won the case by properly distinguishing its brand from lego . suits were filed in europe and the u.s. with similar results . 3 in 1996 a 27 % share of ritvik was sold to the blackstone group . rita bertrand and her daughter chantal retired that year while marc and victor bertrand jr. were active in management . two international subsidiaries were formed mega bloks latinoamerica s.a. de c.v. in 1997 and mega bloks europe n.v. in 1998 . international sales in the 1990s were at 30 % with 70 % from canada and the us ; all but 10 % of that were from four major chains toys r us wal mart target and kmart . 3 ritvik followed the late 1990s licensing trend in 1998 with its first licensing agreement being for teletubbies and then with toy company fisher price with its sesame street characters license . a nascar line was also introduced . 3 ritvik toys inc. was amalgamated with ritvik holdings inc. on june 30 1998 . 4 lego k nex and ritvik added features to their lines in 2000 . ritvik made transformable building sets that changed into vehicles and a remote control electronic kit named the mega bloks ro action builder . ritvik finally added tv advertising that year with a 2 million campaign with a 30 million spend on advertising marketing and research and development in 2002 . 3 mega bloks edit with sales about doubling since 1999 ritvik went public via an initial public offering in may 2002 on the toronto stock exchange under the new name of mega bloks inc. 3 the company traded at 14.50 a share . 1 the founders sons victor bertrand jr. and marc bertrand became chief operating officer and chief operating officer president respectively while victor sr. remained chairman of the board . 3 the toy market was in a down cycle from 2002 to 2003 with the construction toy segment losing 10 to 15 % but mega bloks experienced increased sales . since 1986 the company had seen a run of 17 years of growth becoming the number two in the construction toy segment behind lego . 3 in 2003 the company formed a joint venture with the japanese toy company bandai for asia . bandai marketed mega blok sets with their already licensed japanese cartoon characters . with j.k. rowling s harry potter and lord of rings movies success a dragon series was released in 2003 . meg play a life size block set large enough kids could fit in was also launched . 3 shares were trading at almost 30 . mega bloks inc. acquired rose art industries in 2005 including its magnetix line of toys for us 350 million . 1 soon magnetix was a source of lawsuits from choking incidents causing its share value to drop quickly . magnetix was then recalled . 1 the company acquired board dudes inc. makers of board dudes posting and marking boards and locker dudes locker products in january 2006 through its subsidiary rose art industries inc. 5 mega brands edit on june 15 2006 following the acquisition of several brand names not associated with construction brick toys citation needed the company again changed its name this time from mega bloks inc. to mega brands inc. 1 with rose art industries inc. being renamed mega brands america inc. 6 after 23 consecutive years of growing sales and profit mega lost 458 million in 2008 . heading towards bankruptcy mega brands refinanced . share were consolidated 1 for 20 with fairfax financial becoming a major partner in the recapitalization . 1 the former owners of rose art jeffrey and lawrence rosen offered to purchase back rose art in april 2008 . 7 then they sued company management for insider trading in september 2008 as they sold share previous to the magnetix recall . 8 rose art was placed on the market in march 2008 due to inquiries from the previous owners and others . 9 rose art s base operation was shut down in new jersey and the company moved its stationery and activities division with some key employees to irvine california in 2010 under new executive thomas prichard a former executive at crayola pixar and hasbro . the subsidiary was not sold and was reintegrated into mega operations by 2012 . 1 on february 28 2014 it was announced that toy industry giant mattel inc. would acquire mega brands inc. for approximately us 450 million . 10 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of mattel as of april 20 2014 . 11 pop culture connections edit mega bloks were featured in a commercial for the honda element in which countless bricks fell from the sky to assemble the full sized vehicle . the commercial clearly identifies the bricks as mega bloks in the opening moments of the sequence . 12 mega brands currently has the licensing rights for thomas the tank engine hello kitty the video game franchises call of duty need for speed halo world of warcraft and skylanders giants barbie and hot wheels . citation needed mega brands picked up the license for spongebob squarepants after lego discontinued carrying their version of the licensed sets . citation needed lego lawsuits edit mega bloks building block above and lego building brick below mega brands has won 14 cases regarding its mega bloks over competitor lego . 2 the lego group has filed lawsuits against mega bloks inc. in courts around the world on the grounds that mega bloks use of the studs and tubes interlocking brick system is a violation of trademarks held by lego . citation needed generally such lawsuits have been unsuccessful chiefly because the functional design of the basic brick is considered a matter of patent rather than trademark law and all relevant lego patents have expired . citation needed on november 17 2005 the supreme court of canada upheld mega bloks right to continue selling the product in canada . 13 a similar decision was reached by the european union s court of first instance on november 12 2008 when it upheld an eu trademark agency decision following an objection by mega bloks against a trademark awarded to lego in 1999 . 14 on september 14 2010 the european court of justice ruled that the 8 peg design of the original lego brick merely performs a technical function and can not be registered as a trademark . citation needed references edit a b c d e f g delean paul march 31 2012 . from the archive mega brands rebuilds its foundation . montreal gazette . postmedia network inc. retrieved february 22 2016 . a b c d langsworthy billy february 28 2014 . mattel acquires mega brands for 460m . toy news . retrieved february 23 2016 . a b c d e f g h i j k l m vol .61 . international directory of company histories . st. james press . 2004 . archived from the original on february 22 2016 . retrieved february 22 2016 . trade mark case summary o 086 99 patterns of raised knobs or studs applied to the surfaces of a toy brick . the patent office . 18 march 1999 . archived from the original on 29 may 2006 . retrieved 20 january 2015 . mega bloks builds on its stationery and activity growth strategy with acquisition of the