Appellate Court Suspends Transfer of Bratz Franchise to Mattel
December 9, 2009
Pasadena, California — A year after losing from a copyright lawsuit against toymaker giant Mattel, a company which made a fortune from Bratz dolls has won in a latest court battle after a US Appellate Court on Wednesday has suspended the transfer of ownership of the toy to Mattel.
The appellate judges also ordered Mattel and its rival MGA Entertainment to settle the dispute through the court’s mediation program.
In response to the court ruling, MGA Chief Executive Isaac Larian said he was happy with the “decision that will prevent his company from its untimely demise.”
According to previous reports, MGA lawyers said Mattel’s agenda is to “kill Bratz”, the only doll that toppled Barbie as the most popular toy in the US.
Last year, a lower court ordered MGA to stop the production of Bratz before the end of 2009 and to destroy and recall all the remaining items, and hand down the prototype and design to Mattel by the end of January next year.
The copyright dispute started when Carter Bryant, Mattel’s former Barbie designer, sold the patent of Bratz to MGA. Mattel officials allege that their former employee has come up with the doll’s idea while he was still working for the company.
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