Judge Orders Bratz Dolls Removed from Shelves—After the Holidays
Holiday sales of Bratz dolls will be allowed to continue despite a federal judge’s recall order yesterday in an infringement suit against MGA Entertainment.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson issued a permanent injunction banning MGA from selling the dolls or using the Bratz name, but stayed enforcement until Feb. 11, according to the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) and Reuters. At that time, MGA will argue a motion to set aside a $100 million verdict against it in the infringement and contractual rights suit by Mattel Inc.
“Mattel has established its exclusive rights to the Bratz drawings, and the court has found that hundreds of the MGA parties’ products—including all the currently available core female fashion dolls Mattel was able to locate in the marketplace—infringe those rights,” Larson wrote in yesterday’s ruling.
The Wall Street Journal calls the order “a sweeping legal victory.” MGA said it would appeal.
At the time of the original damages verdict, MGA had proclaimed victory because the jury’s $100 million award was far short of the $2 billion that Mattel had sought. In the first phase of the trial, jurors had found designer Carter Bryant created the concept for the doll when he was working for Mattel.
