Toy making giant
Mattel Inc. was awarded $100 million in damages for its claims that
MGA Entertainment Inc.'s
Bratz dolls are based on the work of a former
Mattel designer, reports
Bloomberg News.
A federal jury in Riverside, California, found today that some of the pouty and multiethnic Bratz dolls MGA started selling in 2001 are substantially similar to the drawings of the former Barbie-doll designer. The jury found last month, in the trial's first phase, that designer Carter Bryant made the sketches while he was at Mattel in
1999 and 2000.
Mattel, which sought as much as $1 billion in Bratz profits from MGA, won $90 million for its claims that MGA and its majority owner and chief executive officer, Isaac Larian, intentionally interfered with Bryant's Mattel contract and helped him breach his fiduciary duty and his duty of loyalty to Mattel. The company also won $10 million on its copyright- infringement claims.
For the complete story, click here.