Dolls

Barbie turns 50 this month, and to shake off a midlife crisis she's getting tattooed and opening the doors to her first megastore in China. The developments are causing a stir on two continents, not bad for a plaything whose global cachet has been sagging of late. We begin in Southern California, where, just in time for spring, Mattel Inc. has released Totally Stylin' Tattoos Barbie. The doll comes with a set of more than 40 tiny tattoo stickers that can be placed on her body.

To their legions of fans -- Sasha Obama and Snoop Dogg included -- the Ugly Dolls are anything but ugly. With names such as Babo, Big Toe and Puglee, the creatures look more like impish cartoon monsters than adorable Beanie Babies. Millions of these odd, squishy misfits have charmed their way into buyers' hands since David Horvath began doodling them eight years ago on letters to his college sweetheart, Sun-Min Kim. Manhattan Beach residents Horvath and Kim had dreamed about creating toys that could tell stories and make kids happy.

MGA Entertainment Inc.'s Bratz dolls, which were found to infringe Mattel Inc.'s copyrights, can be sold this year, a federal judge ruled, modifying a decision that could have resulted in an earlier ban. U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson in Riverside ruled Wednesday that retailers would be allowed to buy the spring and fall lines of the pouty, multiethnic dolls from MGA until Dec. 31, or from either Mattel or a court-appointed receiver if he awards them rights to the infringing Bratz products.

A popular toy maker is refusing to pull a lead-tainted doll from store shelves across Illinois, challenging a state law governing lead content in toys, the state says. Ty Inc., best known for its Beanie Babies, says federal law takes precedence over the Illinois statute. The state is considering suing Ty, based in suburban Chicago, to force it to comply.

Bratz creator Carter Bryant testified Thursday that he drew up some plans for the dolls while he was working at Mattel Inc. as a designer of fashions, hairstyles and makeup for its Barbie line -- and that he used some Ken boots to put together a Bratz mock-up. The testimony at a copyright infringement trial in Riverside could bolster Mattel's claim that it owns a stake in Bratz, which are phenomenally popular with young girls. Bryant left Mattel for MGA Entertainment Inc.

Barbie vs. the Bratz sounds like a Saturday-morning cartoon show, but the bitter copyright infringement trial in federal court plays more like an episode of "CSI," complete with body parts. Doll body parts. As the trial over who owns the wildly successful Bratz powered through its third week in U.S.

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.

The Barbie vs. Bratz fight in federal court will go on. U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson in Riverside on Monday denied a motion to declare a mistrial sought by the maker of the lucrative Bratz doll, MGA Entertainment Inc., because of a juror's ethnic slur. The jury already had found that MGA and its chief executive, Iranian-born Isaac Larian, had improperly aided a Mattel Inc. Barbie designer who created the concept in violation of his Mattel contract.

The Barbie vs. Bratz case was back in federal court Monday, and it was clear Barbie-maker Mattel wanted all the dolls in the toy box. Based on a trial victory in July, Mattel Inc. asked the court not only to stop MGA Entertainment Inc. from making the sassy Bratz, but also to require the Van Nuys company to turn over all its dolls, including those already in stores. Mattel, which won the rights to early drawings of the rival doll after weeks of contentious testimony, even wants the Bratz name.

A federal judge delivered a potentially fatal blow to the popular Bratz dolls and their manufacturer, MGA Entertainment Inc., ruling late Wednesday that archrival Mattel Inc. is the legal owner of the edgy toy line and has the right to recall all unsold Bratz. The court order, which represents a major victory for toy giant Mattel, says MGA may no longer manufacture, sell, advertise or license its core lineup of Bratz dolls or any other product with the Bratz name.