U.S. District Judge Orders MGA Entertainment To Stop Making, Selling Bratz Dolls

Riverside, CA (AHN) - U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson ordered on Wednesday MGA Entertainment to stop manufacturing and selling Bratz dolls after he concluded the toy violated Mattel's copyrights. Larson also approved Mattel's request that MGA stop using the Bratz name.

The Bratz dolls, introduced to the market in 2001, were copied from Mattel's Barbie dolls by the Bratz designer, Carter Bryant, who used to be employed by Mattel.

Larson, said in his decision, "Mattel has established its exclusive rights to the Bratz drawings and the court has found that hundreds of the MGA parties' products, including all the currently available core female fashion dolls Mattel was able to locate in the marketplace, infringe those rights."

Mattel was awarded by the jury $100 million in damage, which was only 5 percent of the $2 billion it asked.

MGA, in a statement, criticized the decision for being too broad and inconsistent with the limited jury decision. The company said it will appeal the ruling.

Mattel chief executive Robert Eckert said in a statement the decision "underscores what Mattel has said all along - that MGA should not be allowed to profit from its wrongdoing."