HAH.

[cimorene]

Judge rules Bratz are history. GOOD. I hate those creepy fuckers. And I hope the sneaky fug-doll hos who stole the designs go out of business.

Comments

[annlarimer.livejournal.com]

Sadly, they're hugely profitable. Mattel will probably just absorb the brand.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Yeah, probably. A depressing reflection.

[almostnever.livejournal.com]

MGA didn't "steal" the designs, they were pitched the Bratz idea by the designer, Carter Bryant. Bryant occasionally worked as a contractor for Mattel, and when Bratz took off, Mattel claimed he'd still been under contract with them when he came up with the Bratz designs, and that therefore, Mattel owned the designs. Bryant countersued that Mattel's contracts were overly broad and that by their interpretation, they bought a total lockup on his brain in return for on-again, off-again employment. He was never even a full employee at Mattel.

This lawsuit's just the latest salvo in Mattel's attempts to stave off competition for Barbie. They also threw their weight around trying to bully retailers into breaking off business with MGA, and MGA claimed Mattel tried to lock up the market on doll hair to cripple MGA's manufacture of Bratz.

Personally, as someone who's done contractual creative work, I was rooting for Bryant here. I mean, whatever you think of the dolls, I just don't believe that hiring a guy now and then to design doll clothes gives Mattel an exclusive lock on every doll-related idea that ever enters his head. But it sounds like as usual in court, the guys with the most money to throw at lawyers won the day.