A couple of Kenner's competitors were able to retool old molds and crank out toys that were in breathing distance of a lawsuit at the time.

I had the villain from this line menacing my old G.I. Joes.

http://www.plaidstallions.com/ideal/starteam.html

There were probably a ton of lightsaber knockoffs, since all you really needed was a flashlight and a plastic tube.

The great shortage of '77 is one reason tie-in toys hit the shelves weeks or even months before a movie opens nowadays. The plot for Tron Legacy was slightly spoiled for me just because I took a shortcut through the toy aisle at Target! ;)