Mga Entertainment

Mattel Inc. was accused by rival MGA Entertainment Inc. of spying on rival toy companies for at least 15 years and defrauding it out of secret details on more than 50 products, in an escalation of the battle over the popular Bratz dolls. In a filing in Los Angeles federal court late Monday, MGA said Mattel workers, with the approval of executives, infiltrated rivals' private showrooms to steal product ideas, price lists and advertising strategies. MGA said the maker of Barbie and Ken dolls went so far as to print up fake business cards at Kinko's to help it gain entry and obtain a "holy grail" of information about rivals.

Toy maker Mattel Inc. reported positive fourth-quarter and full-year results Tuesday after healthy holiday sales of core brands and doll lines, including Hot Wheels, American Girl and Barbie. For the three months that ended Dec. 31, the El Segundo company reported a profit of $370.6 million, or $1.07 a share, a 14% jump from $325.2 million, or 89 cents a share, in the same quarter of 2010. Fourth-quarter sales totaled $2.15 billion, a 1% increase from the year-earlier period.

Isaac Larian, the outspoken entrepreneur who made a fortune off the popular Bratz dolls, was ordered by a federal court judge late Monday to hand control of his company to a temporary receiver. In addition, MGA Entertainment Inc., based in Van Nuys, can no longer produce or distribute the sassy dolls. That's because U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Larson in Riverside also lifted his stay of an order giving archrival Mattel Inc. control of the Bratz assets.

With Mattel Inc. heading into the most important time of the year for the toy industry, the toy maker reported a 6.2% rise in third-quarter profit and healthy sales increases across several major product lines, including Barbie and "Cars 2" merchandise. Chief Executive Robert A. Eckert said during a call with analysts Friday that merchants were optimistic about holiday toy sales, though many were "managing their inventories overall pretty tightly. " He said Mattel was "keenly focused" on strengthening its core brands and entertainment properties, expanding its international footprint and building its newest franchise, the Monster High line.

MGA Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based toy maker with $60 million in annual sales, said it emerged from nine months under federal Bankruptcy Court protection. The firm emerged from Chapter 11 last week after its insurer reached a $135,000 settlement with a former sales representative who sued the company for slander. The company denied the charge. The privately held company makes, among other toys, Singing Bouncing Baby doll and the remote-controlled RC Hockey game.

A former Mattel Inc. employee pleaded guilty to copying confidential company documents and records after he had accepted a job at rival toy maker MGA Entertainment Inc. and was sentenced in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday. As part of a plea agreement, Jorge Castilla, 34, will be placed on probation for three years, spend 30 days in county jail or serve 120 hours of structured community service, turn over all Mattel property in his possession and be required to pay restitution of $21,284.

Toy giant Mattel Inc. can't claim a monopoly over dolls with a bratty attitude, and the rival company that developed the Bratz line deserves its fair share of the dolls' success, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The decision reversed the copyright victory scored two years ago in the battle over who owns the billion-dollar Bratz — Mattel, which employed the inventor while he did early development of the pouty plastic figures, or MGA Entertainment Inc., which later hired him and went on to produce the brand.

Toy giant Mattel Inc. reported Friday that second-quarter profit rose 56%, and company executives hinted that the company's long-running battle with rival MGA Entertainment Inc. over the Bratz doll line wasn't over despite Mattel's recent loss in federal court. The El Segundo company said that for the three months ended June 30, profit totaled $80.5 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with $51.6 million, or 14 cents, a year earlier. Sales increased 14% year-over-year, to $1.16 billion from $1.02 billion.

A federal judge ordered toy giant Mattel Inc. to pay bitter rival MGA Entertainment Inc. more than $309 million in damages, fees and other costs in the long-running dispute over the billion-dollar Bratz doll line and rejected Mattel's bid for a new trial. Isaac Larian, the outspoken chief executive of Van Nuys-based MGA, said he was thrilled by the decision by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, which he called a "step in the right direction. " "I feel vindicated and I'm very excited," he said in an interview.

* RCN Corp., a cable television, phone and Internet service provider whose shares sold for $72 in 2000 and now trade for 5 cents, won court approval of a plan to exit bankruptcy protection this year by trading $1.2 billion in unsecured debt for all the company's equity. * MGA Entertainment is aiming this holiday season to extend its Bratz brand by rolling out baby versions of the popular fashion dolls that have taken sales from Mattel Inc.'s Barbie.

A federal judge ordered toy giant Mattel Inc. to pay bitter rival MGA Entertainment Inc. more than $309 million in damages, fees and other costs in the long-running dispute over the billion-dollar Bratz doll line and rejected Mattel's bid for a new trial. Isaac Larian, the outspoken chief executive of Van Nuys-based MGA, said he was thrilled by the decision by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, which he called a "step in the right direction. " "I feel vindicated and I'm very excited," he said in an interview.

Toy giant Mattel Inc. reported Friday that second-quarter profit rose 56%, and company executives hinted that the company's long-running battle with rival MGA Entertainment Inc. over the Bratz doll line wasn't over despite Mattel's recent loss in federal court. The El Segundo company said that for the three months ended June 30, profit totaled $80.5 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with $51.6 million, or 14 cents, a year earlier. Sales increased 14% year-over-year, to $1.16 billion from $1.02 billion.

Score one for the little guy. In siding with MGA Entertainment Inc. over rival Mattel Inc. in the retrial over who owns the rights to the billion-dollar Bratz doll franchise, a federal jury said the toy giant had not proved its allegations of copyright infringement. What's more, some jurors said they sympathized with MGA's plight as a small company trying to compete with the industry behemoth. "I don't think anyone should be able to bully someone and own everything," said juror Nadine Done, 22. The eight-person jury unanimously rejected Mattel's copyright infringement claims; said Mattel did not own the rights to the dolls, early models or sketches; and said MGA did not steal trade secrets.

Robust sales of dolls helped Mattel Inc. report an 8% sales increase for the first quarter, but higher costs at the world's No. 1 toy maker — including increased legal fees for the prolonged Bratz trial — led to a significant drop in profit. For the three months that ended March 31, sales totaled $951.9 million, compared with $880.1 million for the same quarter a year earlier, the company said Friday. Profit fell 33% to $16.6 million, or 5 cents a share, from $24.8 million, or 7 cents.

After nearly three months of courtroom testimony, the bitter dispute between toy giant Mattel Inc. and rival MGA Entertainment Inc. over ownership of the sassy Bratz doll line was sent to a jury for deliberations. A verdict could come as soon as next week. The jury heard final arguments in the copyright infringement case in federal court in Santa Ana on Friday in front of a packed courtroom that included the chief executives of both companies. A major point of contention centers on when and where Bratz creator and former Barbie designer Carter Bryant came up with the idea for the wildly popular multi-ethnic dolls known for their oversized heads, pouty lips and risque clothing.

The bitter battle over ownership of the Bratz dolls has grown more acrimonious, with toy giant Mattel Inc. seeking a mistrial following scathing remarks made on the stand by the chief executive of rival MGA Entertainment Inc. In his testimony this week, Isaac Larian, the colorful and outspoken head of MGA, contended that the stress from the years-long dispute with Mattel killed his father, destroyed his family and caused Bratz creator Carter Bryant...

Legal fees from the court dispute pitting Mattel Inc. against MGA Entertainment Inc. over the Bratz doll line have eclipsed $90 million. Van Nuys-based MGA has accumulated $63 million in legal bills since El Segundo-based Mattel filed the copyright infringement lawsuit against it in 2004, and Mattel has racked up about $30 million in the first half of this year, according to court records and financial disclosures.

Mattel Inc., the world's largest toy maker, reported strong fourth-quarter and full-year results Wednesday thanks to healthy sales of core brands and doll lines including Barbie, American Girl and Monster High. For the three months ended Dec. 31, the El Segundo company reported profit of $325.2 million, or 89 cents a share, compared with $328.4 million, or 89 cents, in the same quarter a year earlier. Fourth-quarter sales totaled $2.12 billion, a 9% increase from the year-earlier quarter; sales in the U.S. were up 11%. The fourth quarter is the most important time of the year for toy makers, with many seeing nearly 40% of their sales come during the holiday rush.

It's the Battle of the Bratz, the sequel. Bitter toy rivals Mattel Inc. and MGA Entertainment Inc. were back in court Tuesday to renew their years-long battle over who owns the billion-dollar Bratz, the sexy-with-an-attitude dolls that debuted a decade ago and deeply cut into Mattel's Barbie empire. During the first trial in 2008, a jury in Riverside found that Bratz inventor and former Barbie designer Carter Bryant was in Mattel's employ when he developed the concept for the immensely popular dolls.