The Mattel Inc VS MGA Entertainment Inc. patent suit emerged after a former employee of Mattel, Carter Bryant, pitched the Bratz doll line idea to MGA Entertainment while he was still employed with Mattel. Although Bryant had managed to keep the secret from Mattel for close to a year, the company eventually found out of his underhanded assignment. As a result of this discovery, Mattel filed a series of lawsuits against MGA Entertainment.
In July 2008, the court ruled in favor of Mattel’s claim for exclusive rights over the Bratz doll line. Mattel claimed that Carter Bryant had violated his exclusivity contract while working at their company. During that time he created dolls under MGA Entertainment. Since he was still working at Mattel, the company claimed that the Bratz doll line was indeed their creation. As a result of those claims, Mattel was awarded $100 million US in damages. By December 2008, MGA was banned from manufacturing and selling Bratz dolls. The ban went into effect in January 2009.
Furthermore, the judge stated that MGA Entertainment Bratz doll line manufactured during the period of 2001 to 2008 had infringed on Mattel’s intellectual property. Only the Kidz and Lil Angelz lines were excluded from this infringement.