Is Barbie being a mean girl? Are Bratz just living up to their name? It’s been a mind bending legal battle of epic proportions for the past 7 years since the Bratz Dolls debuted in 2004. It’s the elementary schoolyard catfight of the century. People who don’t even work in the toy industry have a strong opinion on which side they are backing.
In the pink corner Mattel is fighting for Barbie, saying that the concept sketches and sculps made by Bratz creator Carter Bryant were done while he was working for Mattel and he conspired with their competitor to undermine the Barbie brand. In the purple corner is toy company MGA who makes Bratz dolls. MGA and Bryant assert that the Bratz origins were developed while Bryant was on hiatus.
Neither company has taken the fight lightly. An internal executive memo from Mattel put it all out on the playing field saying, "This is war and sides must be taken: Barbie stands for good. All others stand for evil." MGA chief executive Isaac Larian feels Mattel’s action have been murderous stating, "Mattel killed the Bratz brand. It will never be the same level it was before."
Both companies realize there is more at stake than who has the most toys. It’s a matter of shouting “Mine!” on hundreds of millions of dollars in profits and billions of dollars worth of products. MGA has sold more than $3.3 billion in Bratz merchandise. They netted over $300 million in profit at the same time the proceeds from Barbie products fell by $400 million.
Neither side would settle so they took it to trial 3 years ago in 2008 when a jury awarded Mattel rights to the Bratz line and ordered MGA to pay $100 million in restitution. The Bratz brand didn’t take the decision lying down. Last year the case was overturned and sent to federal court. In a surprising turn around decision the federal jury concluded that Mattel was not able to sufficiently substantiate their claims. They sided with MGA returning the rights and rescinding the restitution.
Laird wept when the final verdict was read. He commented, “It very well shows that in America, even huge corporations are not above the law.” Mattel felt the effects almost instantly as share prices dropped 3% with the decision. Later they bounced back a little to a 1% loss but faith in company management may be a little shaken as a financial analyst explains, "It means they wasted $400 million or so of shareholder money to get zero return."
Now that the debate of who’s going to be making Bratz is settled it can get back the question of who is buying them. Both companies are picking up and moving on as the good versus evil battle of fashion dolls continues on the sales floor. Mattel seems to be playing both sides of the game with the launch and success of their Monster High line. Maybe MGA will counter with some “Girls Gone Good” characters.
By Heather Fairchild - Heather is a multimedia developer with experience in web, film, photography and animation as well as traditional fine arts like painting and sculpting. In addition to writing for RetailGigsBlog.com, she is co-founder of design and promotion company, BlackChip Solutions with fellow Nexxt blogger, Staci Dennis. Heather’s spare time consists of making puppets, teaching Sunday School, building Legos and doing science experiments with her children.
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