Instead of ending projects that are in the middle of gathering support when a product is released, grandfather in the existing submissions.
Instead of ending projects that are in the middle of gathering support when a product is released, grandfather in the existing submissions. Stop accepting new submissions under the conflicting theme but don't archive the designs in progress. This would allow designers to finish gathering support and honor their entries that were considered valid at the start of the competition. This also allows Lego to avoid the situation of ending a project that has reached over 9,000 votes with plenty of time left only to get archived due to theme overlap. This is frustrating to both the designers and supporters of the project. It would be a more satisfying resolution to let existing designs reach 10K, earn the badge, receive a compensation prize, and then inform them the design would not be chosen due to theme overlap.
Members basing their submissions off of licensed properties actively take the risk that their submissions may be archived when we announce/release products.