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Bratz Suit Nets Mattel $100 Million

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The Associated Press

Published: August 27, 2008

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A federal jury awarded Mattel $100 million in damages Tuesday in a federal copyright lawsuit that pitted the house of Barbie against MGA Entertainment, the maker of the Bratz dolls.

MGA and its chief executive officer, Isaac Larian, were told to pay $90 million in three causes of action related to Mattel's employment contract with designer Carter Bryant, who developed the Bratz concept.

The jury also ordered MGA, Larian and subsidiary MGA Hong Kong to pay $10 million for copyright infringement.

MGA contends the three awards related to the contract were duplicative and said it plans to ask the trial judge to set total damages at no more than $40 million.

In a victory for MGA, the jury did not award any punitive damages and found that neither Larian nor MGA acted willfully when they employed Bryant, a finding that could have dramatically increased the damages.

U.S. District Judge Stephen G. Larson will consider the awards and determine how much MGA owes Mattel.

MGA hailed the jury decision as vindication in the long-running case.

"This jury found there was no guilt," Larian said.

MGA attorney Thomas Nolan said the jury had awarded a fraction of the nearly $2 billion in damages sought by Mattel.

"We are thrilled that this jury sent a strong message that they want these companies to compete in the marketplace and not the courtroom," Nolan said.

Mattel attorney Bill Price declined to comment after the verdict.

"Mattel has pursued this case first and foremost as a matter of principle," Mattel CEO Robert A. Eckert said. "We have an obligation to defend ourselves against competitors who choose to engage in fraudulent activities against us."

The same jury that decided the damages phase concluded last month that Bratz designer Bryant came up with the Bratz concept while working at Mattel. Jurors placed the value of Bryant's drawings at $31,500, and awarded that plus interest to Mattel.

The jury awarded damages of $20 million against MGA and $10 million against Larian in each of three causes of action: intentional interference with contractual relations, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, and aiding and abetting breach of the duty of loyalty.

The amount of damages turned on the question of whether jurors believed MGA should only be held responsible for profits derived from the first four Bratz dolls, which came from Bryant's drawings, or from all the subsequent Bratz dolls and related products.

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