Mattel Awarded Damages in Bratz Suit

LOS ANGELES, August 27:
Toy giant Mattel is set to receive damages in its long-running suit against MGA
Entertainment over the Bratz brand, but the companies have issued drastically
different statements on the value of the award.

Towards the end of last
month, a federal jury ruled that the majority of the Bratz design drawings,
prototypes and sculpts were created by doll designer Carter Bryant while he was
still employed by Mattel.

Mattel said yesterday that
a jury had “unanimously awarded” $100 million in damages from MGA Entertainment
and its CEO, Isaac Larian, for copyright infringement and other claims related
to its “rightful ownership of Bratz-related works.”

According to Mattel, the
jury awarded $90 million for “MGA's and Larian's wrongs against Mattel” and $10
million for copyright infringement. “Mattel has pursued this case first and
foremost as a matter of principle," said Robert A. Eckert, the chairman
CEO of Mattel. "We have an obligation to defend ourselves against
competitors who choose to engage in fraudulent activities against us. We're
pleased that the jury agreed with Mattel that what MGA did was wrong and that
damages were awarded."

MGA late yesterday stated
that certain media reports about the damages were “inaccurate.” According to
MGA, the level of damages was $20 million. The statement notes: “MGA said that
the jury made its award pursuant to a variety of legal claims, each based on
the same damages theory, and subject to the court's instruction not to be
concerned about duplicative damages. MGA pointed out that during the trial
Mattel even conceded that the damages it sought were overlapping and
duplicative.”

“We are pleased to have this trial behind us,” said Larian in
the statement. “We can now concentrate all of our energies on what we do
best—providing dolls and other toys that are the consumers’ first
choice.”

MGA intends to appeal any
amount of awarded damages at the end of the case. The court is expected to make
the final determination regarding the total of damages that MGA and Larian will
pay to Mattel today.

—By Mansha Daswani