Property, intangible

a blog about ownership of intellectual property rights and its licensing


  • The Fight for Bratz – With a New Plaintiff

    Just when you thought the Bratz story was over, it gets better. You know, the fight over the pouty-lipped dolls, where the designer, Carter Bryant, who was employed by Mattel off and on, claimed to have designed them while the relationship was off and then took the design to MGA Entertainment. Mattel sued MGA, won… Continue reading

  • MGA Entertainment Wins Bratz! (For Now)

    Image from Counterfeit Chic “Staggering blow.”“Major reversal.”“Plastic cat fight of epic proportions.” “Astonishing loss.”  It just doesn’t get more dramatic than this.  In the everlasting dispute over ownership of the Bratz doll franchise, Mattel’s original $100 million verdict in the first trial is gone. Now Mattel gets a paltry $10,000 on an intentional interference claim… Continue reading

  • “Who Owns Bratz?”

    Be still my heart, my title is the opening line in the 9th Circuit decision about the long-standing dispute over the Bratz dolls, a title I have somehow thus far missed using.  More background than you could ever want on the case is here. As we all know, MGA Entertainment lost in a big way. … Continue reading

  • Mattel $100 Million Richer, For Now

    Yesterday the Bratz court dealt with a boatload of motions, most importantly MGA Entertainment’s motion for remittitur of the $100 million verdict. MGA Entertainment claimed that the $100 verdict was duplicative, and that the jury really meant that the verdict should be $20 million. The MGA parties argue that Mattel had a singular theory of… Continue reading

  • Dilbert on Company Time

    Dilbert has been running a series for all of you who aspire to be you own boss but on company time, a lesson that Carter Bryant has learned. Sorry about the formatting, but click on the strip to see the full image: © 2009 Pamela Chestek Continue reading

  • Bratz Mandamus Denied

    The 9th Circuit, brief and to the point: Petitioners’ motion to file portions of the emergency motion and the petition for writ of mandamus under seal is granted. The motion to exceed the page limitation on the petition is granted. The emergency motion for an order suspending trial is denied. Petitioners have not demonstrated that… Continue reading

  • Bratz Hobby

    Watching the Bratz litigation has become a bit of a hobby for me. Law.com reports that MGA applied for a writ of mandamus with the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, asking it to overturn the district court’s denial of the motion for mistrial that MGA filed when it learned that a juror was… Continue reading

  • More Bratz

    The Bratz story just keeps getting more interesting. Seems one of the jurors commented that Iranians are “stubborn, rude”, and as “thieves” who have “stolen other persons’ ideas.” The CEO of MGA, the company with the Bratz line of dolls, is Iranian. Juror dismissed, motion for mistrial filed. AP story here. Previous entries on Bratz… Continue reading