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Sol Fury

12-04-2008 04:42 PM

Mattel wins injunction to shut down the Bratz line

Originally read this here:

The Bratz Line Is Over - TFW2005 - The 2005 Boards

Quote:

Barbie beats back Bratz

Federal judge bars MGA from making, selling Bratz dolls; Barbie sales down 15%.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The rowdy Bratz dolls have been evicted. Barbie has regained control of the dollhouse.

Toy giant Mattel Inc., after a four-year legal dispute with MGA Entertainment Inc., touted its win in the case Wednesday after a federal judge banned MGA from making and selling its pouty-lipped and hugely popular Bratz dolls.

"It's a pretty sweeping victory," Mattel attorney Michael Zeller said. "They have no right to use Bratz for any goods or services at all."

U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson rocked the toy industry with his order that MGA must immediately stop manufacturing Bratz. He allowed MGA to wait until the holiday season ends to remove the toys from store shelves.

The decision was a stunning defeat for MGA, which exploded onto the tween scene in 2001 with the edgy dolls and made hundreds of millions in profits, giving Mattel's more classic doll-diva Barbie a run for her money.

The ruling, issued in federal court in Riverside, followed a jury's finding that Bratz designer Carter Bryant developed the concept for the dolls while working for Mattel.

The same jury later awarded Mattel $10 million for copyright infringement and $90 million for breach of contract after a lengthy trial stemming from Mattel's 2004 lawsuit ended in August.

MGA spokesman Sandra Ravan did not immediately return a call for comment late Wednesday. It was unclear if MGA planned to appeal Larson's ruling.

Mattel has fought to neutralize the Bratz line for years. The dolls -- with their huge lips, pug noses, almond-shaped eyes and coquettish figures -- were an instant hit with young girls. MGA had taken Bryant's original four dolls and spun out a line of more than 40 characters, complete with accessories and related toys such as Bratz Boyz, Bratz Petz and Baby Bratz.

El Segundo-based Mattel has seen sales of Barbie -- once a rite of passage for American girls -- slide since the doe-eyed Bratz dolls first came on the scene. Domestic sales of Barbie were down 15% in 2007.

Both sides had a lot riding on the judge's decision and had worried about the impact of any ruling during the holiday shopping season.

The judge's injunction named all 40 dolls in the Bratz line, including the four originals -- Yasmine, Chloe, Sasha and Jade. Larson also ordered MGA to reimburse its vendors and distributors for the cost of the dolls and all shipping charges for sending them back.

During trial, Mattel attorneys said MGA made nearly $778 million on the Bratz line since it was introduced seven years ago, and company Chief Executive Isaac Larian made $696 million through June -- but MGA insisted the profits were much less.

The post-trial dispute that prompted Wednesday's ruling centered on whether the jury found that only the first generation of four Bratz dolls infringed on Mattel's copyright or whether all the dolls in the line are in violation.

The jury verdict form only asked panelists to find whether there was infringement and assign a dollar reward, but did not ask them to specify which dolls among the dozens MGA made violated the law.

Los Angeles-based MGA, which no longer makes the first-generation dolls, argued that the later toys in the Bratz line don't violate the copyright and it could continue to sell them.

MGA attorney Raoul Kennedy argued that Larson had the discretion to determine which dolls violated Mattel's copyright. Mattel's attorneys disagreed, saying the court does not have the authority to interpret the jury's findings after the fact.

Barbie beats back Bratz - Dec. 4, 2008

Flint

12-05-2008 07:20 AM

Wow, that's a big win for Mattel. So what are the odds that somehow the Big M gains control of the Bratz line.

Runamuck

12-05-2008 08:07 AM

I don't get it. Soooo, basically Mattel didn't want competition? And that was the underlying reason for all this?

trebleshot

12-05-2008 08:52 AM

Given the decision, we'll probably see Bratz in the next year or two under the Mattel banner. I'm curious if the remaining stock in stores will become collectors' items once MGA is ordered to remove them from shelves after the holiday season is over.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Runamuck (Post 5480)

I don't get it. Soooo, basically Mattel didn't want competition? And that was the underlying reason for all this?

Apparently, Mattel believed that the idea for Bratz was conceived and R&D'd while the designer was still with Mattel, therefore making it Mattel's IP, so MGA had no right to produce toys based on it.

Based on this ruling, both the jury and the judge agreed with Mattel.

Da_Last_2_Walk

12-05-2008 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint (Post 5472)

Wow, that's a big win for Mattel. So what are the odds that somehow the Big M gains control of the Bratz line.

I don't know that Mattel will get the rights to the Bratz? I think MGA can't produce anymore Bratz, but Bratz are still owned by MGA?

Da_Last_2_Walk

12-05-2008 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Runamuck (Post 5480)

I don't get it. Soooo, basically Mattel didn't want competition? And that was the underlying reason for all this?

Don't mess with Barbie, she's one bad b***h! :)

Sol Fury

12-05-2008 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Da_Last_2_Walk (Post 5488)

I don't know that Mattel will get the rights to the Bratz? I think MGA can't produce anymore Bratz, but Bratz are still owned by MGA?

That sounds about right. MGA claim only the initial run of Bratz were R&D'ed while the designer is at Mattel. Odds are any attempt by Mattel to revive the line would be met by obstruction from MGA claiming that Mattel is infringing on some part of the line or other.

But who knows, maybe some sort of settlement will get reached. Or a new version just different enough to get around the judgement.

Runamuck

12-05-2008 11:46 AM

Umm...what does R&D'ed mean? :o

Da_Last_2_Walk

12-05-2008 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Runamuck (Post 5511)

Umm...what does R&D'ed mean? :o

R&D = Research and Development

I work in Research & Development/Product Development.

Runamuck

12-05-2008 12:05 PM

Research and Development'ed, then?

Da_Last_2_Walk

12-05-2008 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Runamuck (Post 5521)

Research and Development'ed, then?

Research and developed

Runamuck

12-05-2008 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Da_Last_2_Walk (Post 5524)

Research and developed

Ah, hehe. Sorry, can't think straight. Been up since 7:30pm yesterday....

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