Barbie Beats Bratz in Court Battle

Jury finds designer invented Bratz dolls on Mattel payroll
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 18, 2008 2:43 AM CDT
Barbie Beats Bratz in Court Battle
MGA's Feelin' Pretty Bratz. A jury has ruled the concept for the edgy Bratz doll was stolen from Mattel.    (AP Photo/MGA Entertainment, FILE)

Barbie doll creator Mattel has won a bitter courtroom battle against rival MGA Entertainment, which sells the edgier Bratz dolls. A jury found that Bratz designer Carter Byant conceived the pouty-lipped dolls while on Mattel's payroll, and that MGA secretly plotted with him to steal the billion-dollar idea, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Mattel Chairman and CEO Robert Eckert called the verdict "a triumph—this important principle has been confirmed by the jury: what MGA did was wrong." Damages will be decided in future hearings, while the toy industry assesses the fallout. (More Mattel stories.)

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