In Stunning Court Reversal, Bratz Dolls to Remain on Shelves

Remember the Mattel vs. MGA Entertainment legal dispute over who owned the rights to the Bratz Dolls? (Summaries here, here and here) Mattel had won the battle, obtaining a court order forcing MGA Entertainment to stop selling the dolls and transfer ownership of the dolls to Mattel. Well, a U.S. appeals court has just suspended that order. It’s unclear why the court of appeals did this (presumably based on MGA Entertainment’s motion), but their reasoning is a bit surprising if not shocking. According to the BBC, “judges questioned whether an earlier court ruling had gone too far in awarding ownership of the Bratz range to Mattel, suggesting it was ‘draconian’. They also questioned Mattel’s employment contracts, and ordered both sides to try to come to an agreement on the dispute out of court.”

Tags: bratz dolls, employment contracts, Litigation, mattel, mga entertainment, toys