Nine people have been jailed and fined by a Shanghai court for illegally copying Lego’s iconic brick designs.

The convicted were involved in the operation of Lepin, a company that sold Lego knockoffs. According to court documents, they bought and studied building bricks made by the Danish company and then commissioned others to create molds that could recreate the toys in a factory.

Those charged were responsible for copying 663 Lego products from 47 series, including the Great Wall of China.

The principal offender, surnamed Li, was sentenced to six years in prison and was fined 90 million yuan (US$13.2 million). Prison sentences for the other eight range from three years to 4 ½ years.

Lepin’s website was still running as of Wednesday evening, but a search for “Great Wall of China” returned only one result for an LED light kit that did not include the brick toys.

Lepin’s products can be commonly found in mainland China and Hong Kong.

Intellectual property rights have long been a matter of serious concern in China. In April, U.S. footwear and apparel firm New Balance won a lawsuit against Chinese copycat New Barlun over the use of its “N” logo. The latter was ordered to pay damages of 10.8 million yuan.

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