Brooklyn Artist Claims Bratz Dolls Infringe His Copyrights

I was just talking about this case last night, and lo’ and behold we come to find out it’s not over yet. Remember the legal battle between Mattel and MGA over those sexy looking Bratz dolls? Mattel won a huge million-dollar award plus an injunction keeping MGA from making the Bratz. The argument there focused on whether the designer, Carter Bryan, had designed the dolls while still under contract with Mattel. Well, now there’s another artist claiming he created the Bratz.

Bernard Belair, an artist and a photographer from Brooklyn, claims that he is the creator and copyright owner of the images used in those Steve Maddden ads. Belair’s lawyers allege that Carter Bryan’s sketches for the Bratz dolls were based on Belair’s images. It seems Bryan is suing both MGA and Mattel.

Copyright lawsuits are something we’re going to see explode exponentially. As artists realize that their artistic (material) productions also carry intellectual property rights, they will become more protective of their artistic creations, and thus more litigious.

More on the Bratz from the AmLaw Litigation Daily.

Tags: bernard belair, bratz dolls, carter bryan, Copyright, design, dolls, mattel, mga, Trademark