Barbie Wins Lawsuit Over Bratz
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Allie @ Gone Hollywood | Friday, July 18, 2008 |
Mattel (Barbie) won a court case that was filed against MGA Entertainment (Bratz) a $1 billion-plus doll franchise.
A nine-member federal jury in California found the creator of the multi-ethnic, big-headed dolls, Carter Bryant, created their characters and the name while he was under contract as a Barbie designer at Mattel.
The decision put Mattel in commanding position going into the damages phase of the trial, which begins July 23.
Other than the four drawings that Bryant testified that he made in a notebook while on an eight-month hiatus from Mattel in 1998, privately held MGA lost the rights to all drawings and “sculpts” of the Bratz.
While the verdict is a blow for MGA, it can say in the damages phase that Mattel has no rights to the dolls themselves because they are different from the drawings and were made by MGA designers.
Sounds to me like Barbie was a bit jealous of the Bratz craze and wants a piece of the pie. Nothing hotter than two plastic dolls in a catfight.
source: Jury finds in favor of Mattel in Bratz trial [usa today]
