The tiny, fake fur was flying as the Barbie-Bratz court battle wrapped up Thursday, with toy industry giant Mattel Inc. and upstart MGA Entertainment Inc. both claiming ownership of the hugely successful Bratz line of dolls.
MGA, which seven years ago debuted the saucy Bratz doll, has maintained from the May 27 start of the trial that Mattel was trying to unfairly stomp out competition to its faltering Barbie empire.
"For 40 years Barbie was the only doll in town," Tom Nolan, lawyer for Van Nuys-based MGA, said in his closing argument. "And then Bratz came in and knocked her off her pedestal."
Mattel, headquartered in El Segundo, sued in 2004, claiming that Bratz -- known for hip-hugging outfits and bare midriffs that have given some parents fits -- were secretly created by one of its own Barbie designers, Carter Bryant, even though he had an exclusivity contract with the company.
Mattel lawyer John Quinn argued to the jury that MGA knew of Bryant's contract when it committed to developing the Bratz line.
"They helped him because they needed a successful product," Quinn said. "MGA was with him every step of the way."
Shortly before the trial began, Bryant and Mattel reached a settlement, the terms of which were sealed by the court and have not been revealed. Bryant has earned more than $30 million in royalties from his Bratz brainchild.
That left MGA to slug it out alone with Mattel, which wants a stake in the Bratz franchise.
The fact that the Bratz dolls have been a sizzling success was one of the few things not in question during the proceedings in U.S. District Court in Riverside. MGA is a private company and doesn't disclose its earnings, but Mattel contends that its smaller rival has made $500 million a year off Bratz sales, licensing and other revenue. Some analysts place the total as high as $2 billion annually.
During five hours of closing arguments, the lawyers revisited evidence and testimony but, freed of the restrictions that have to be obeyed when questioning witnesses, the gloves came off.
"That's not evidence," MGA's Nolan snarled at one point. "That's drama."
He was speaking of Mattel's questioning the honesty of Bryant's mother and his life partner, both of whom testified that the designer showed them Bratz drawings in 1998. That's when Bryant was living with his parents in Missouri and not working for Mattel.
"Mothers don't lie," Nolan told the jury.
