A federal jury rejected Mattel Inc.’s claims that MGA Entertainment Inc. stole the idea for the wildly profitable Bratz dolls, and instead awarded $88.5 million to MGA for trade secrets theft by Mattel.
In a verdict announced on April 21, the jury in Santa Ana, Calif., rejected Mattel’s claims of copyright infringement by MGA, finding that Mattel did not own the rights to the first four models of the dolls plus two newer versions. Mattel had claimed that one of its former designers took the idea when he joined MGA, which manufactures the Bratz dolls.
