Five Lessons From The Toy Wars: How Intellectual Property Laws Can Restrict Your Career Mobility; Forbes, September 23, 2018

Michael B. Arthur, Forbes; Five Lessons From The Toy Wars: How Intellectual Property Laws Can Restrict Your Career Mobility

"Orly Lobel’s new book You Don’t Own Me recounts the knock-down, drag-out and still unfinished "toy wars" between Mattel, distributor of Barbie dolls, and nearby rival MGA Entertainment, distributor of the Bratz collection. The book shows how those wars “challenge the right and freedom to leave jobs, compete with incumbent companies, control ideas and innovate.” What Lobel calls "the criminalization of employment mobility" is a serious problem, and this article offers some first steps to protect yourself from its grasp."

Jury Rebuffs Mattel, Giving Bratz Dolls Rights to a Rival; Associated Press via New York Times, 4/21/11

Associated Press via New York Times; Jury Rebuffs Mattel, Giving Bratz Dolls Rights to a Rival:

"A federal jury on Thursday rejected Mattel’s claims that it owns the copyright to the blockbuster billion-dollar Bratz dolls and instead awarded an upstart rival, MGA Entertainment, more than $88 million in damages for misappropriation of trade secrets."

Bratz Dolls Breathe Again After Stunning Ninth Circuit Reversal; Wall Street Journal, 7/22/10

Ashby Jones, Wall Street Journal; Bratz Dolls Breathe Again After Stunning Ninth Circuit Reversal:

"Wowza.

It’s been a while since we heard anything on the Mattel/MGA front. But the Ninth Circuit on Thursday handed down a stunning ruling, essentially reversing much of the December 2008 ruling that gave Mattel the rights to much of MGA’s Bratz products. Click here for the AP story; here for the Bloomberg story; here for the opinion, written by Judge Alex Kozinski and joined by Judges Stephen Trott and Kim Wardlaw.

The ruling may force a retrial.

In 2008, Mattel won a lawsuit claiming MGA had infringed its copyright and breached a contract because the designer of Bratz dolls was still under contract to Mattel when he developed the Bratz concept for MGA.

In April 2009, a federal judge upheld the $100 million jury verdict that gave Mattel ownership of the Bratz brand.

But the appeals court suspended that order in December and reversed it Thursday.

“It is not equitable to transfer this billion-dollar brand, the value of which is overwhelmingly the result of MGA’s legitimate efforts, because it may have started with two misappropriated names,” the appellate panel said in its ruling today.

The appellate court said it was likely that a significant portion of the jury verdict and damages award would need to be vacated and that the entire case will probably be retried.

“This is a breathtaking opinion by a unanimous panel of the Ninth Circuit. The panel endorsed all of the arguments that MGA has been advancing throughout this protracted litigation,” said Thomas Nolan, a lawyer at Skadden. Nolan led the trial team on behalf of MGA. Orrick’s Josh Rosenkrantz argued the appeal for MGA.

John Quinn and other lawyers from Quinn Emanuel handled the trial for Mattel. Daniel Collins of Munger Tolles argued the appeal.

Spokespersons for each company were not immediately reached for comment by Bloomberg."

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/07/22/bratz-dolls-breathe-again-after-stunning-ninth-circuit-reversal/

Bratz dolls maker wins appeal against Mattel; Los Angeles Times, 7/22/10

Carol Williams and Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times; Bratz dolls maker wins appeal against Mattel: MGA Entertainment violated Mattel's copyrights to some degree but is entitled to 'sweat equity' because it developed the dolls into a successful brand, court says:

"Toy giant Mattel Inc. can't claim a monopoly over dolls with a bratty attitude, and the rival company that developed the Bratz line deserves its fair share of the dolls' success, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The decision reversed the copyright victory scored two years ago in the battle over who owns the billion-dollar Bratz — Mattel, which employed the inventor while he did early development of the pouty plastic figures, or MGA Entertainment Inc., which later hired him and went on to produce the brand.

Mattel, whose Barbie dolls ruled the world's toy chests and play houses for half a century, had been awarded $100 million in damages ($10 million of it for copyright infringement) and ownership of the trademark rights to all Bratz dolls after a 2008 jury trial. The lower court had found that the inventor, Carter Bryant, had violated his contract with Mattel by taking the idea with him when he left the company.

MGA, based in Van Nuys, was ordered by a federal judge to transfer all products, proceeds and other assets to a trust created for Mattel. MGA appealed, leading to Thursday's decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

While an employee of El Segundo-based Mattel, Barbie designer Bryant developed the Bratz dolls, worked up sketches and made at least one mockup of four flirty girls with hot clothes and heavy makeup. Bryant had called his line Bratz and named one of the first four dolls Jade — names that eventually made it to market on MGA products.

Although MGA violated Mattel's copyrights to some degree, MGA developed the dolls into a phenomenal success and is entitled to its "sweat equity," the appeals panel said.

"Mattel can't claim a monopoly over fashion dolls with a bratty look or attitude, or dolls sporting trendy clothing — these were all unprotectable ideas," the panel headed by 9th Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski ruled.

The judges also sent the case back to federal district court to determine a more fair disposition of the Bratz property, saying "it was not equitable to transfer this billion-dollar brand — the value of which was overwhelmingly the result of MGA's legitimate efforts — because it might have started with two misappropriated names."

Each dollmaker said it expected to ultimately prevail in the ownership battle."

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/22/business/la-fi-0723-bratz-court-20100722