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Mattel Inc. won a copyright infringement case against competitor MGA Entertainment Inc., producer of the hip-hop themed Bratz dolls, which Mattel claims have caused Barbie sales to suffer since the launch of the $1 billion line in 2001.
A federal jury found that Bratz creator Carter Bryant came up with the doll characters and name while he was a contracted Barbie designer at Mattel, then took the designs to its competitor, MGA.
MGA chief executive Isaac Larian said the privately owned, Van Nuys-based company created Bratz independent of Bryant's original drawings, and that Bryant had nothing to do with many Bratz spinoffs, including Bratz Babyz, Lil' Bratz and Bratz Kidz. Bryant claimed the originals were made in the summer of 1998 when he was not working for either company. He said the concept came from studying Steve Madden shoe ads in Seventeen magazine, the cover of the Dixie Chicks album "Chicks With Attitude," and watching kids on their way home from school. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision on the origination date of four groups of Bryant's early drawings.
Still, the jury found that Larian and MGA converted Mattel property for their own use and that Larian personally interfered with Mattel and Bryant's contractual relationship. Bryant, who made more than $30 million in royalties from Bratz, entered into a confidential settlement with Mattel before the trial began.
Bryant allegedly worked for Mattel between September 1995 and April 1998, and then again between January 1999 and October 2000. While at Mattel, Bryant made a mock-up out of a Barbie body and Ken boots. MGA came out with Bratz prototypes a month after Bryant left Mattel and the dolls hit toy stores five months later, Mattel said.
Mattel's CEO, Robert A. Eckert, said the company had pursued the case "as a matter of principle."
Barbie doll sales in the United States dropped 15 percent in 2007 and 12 percent in the first quarter of 2008.
Mattel is expected to claim hefty damages when the jury returns next Wednesday, as it estimates MGA makes $500 million a year off the dolls. Mattel seeks an injunction to stop MGA's sale of the popular line.
In a countersuit, MGA claims Mattel adapted its "My Scene" line to look like Bratz dolls, and then used retailer leverage to dampen Bratz sales.
A federal jury found that Bratz creator Carter Bryant came up with the doll characters and name while he was a contracted Barbie designer at Mattel, then took the designs to its competitor, MGA.
MGA chief executive Isaac Larian said the privately owned, Van Nuys-based company created Bratz independent of Bryant's original drawings, and that Bryant had nothing to do with many Bratz spinoffs, including Bratz Babyz, Lil' Bratz and Bratz Kidz. Bryant claimed the originals were made in the summer of 1998 when he was not working for either company. He said the concept came from studying Steve Madden shoe ads in Seventeen magazine, the cover of the Dixie Chicks album "Chicks With Attitude," and watching kids on their way home from school. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision on the origination date of four groups of Bryant's early drawings.
Still, the jury found that Larian and MGA converted Mattel property for their own use and that Larian personally interfered with Mattel and Bryant's contractual relationship. Bryant, who made more than $30 million in royalties from Bratz, entered into a confidential settlement with Mattel before the trial began.
Bryant allegedly worked for Mattel between September 1995 and April 1998, and then again between January 1999 and October 2000. While at Mattel, Bryant made a mock-up out of a Barbie body and Ken boots. MGA came out with Bratz prototypes a month after Bryant left Mattel and the dolls hit toy stores five months later, Mattel said.
Mattel's CEO, Robert A. Eckert, said the company had pursued the case "as a matter of principle."
Barbie doll sales in the United States dropped 15 percent in 2007 and 12 percent in the first quarter of 2008.
Mattel is expected to claim hefty damages when the jury returns next Wednesday, as it estimates MGA makes $500 million a year off the dolls. Mattel seeks an injunction to stop MGA's sale of the popular line.
In a countersuit, MGA claims Mattel adapted its "My Scene" line to look like Bratz dolls, and then used retailer leverage to dampen Bratz sales.
