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O'Melveny Firm Sues Bratz Doll Maker for Unpaid Fees

By Brian Baxter
July 29, 2010

O'Melveny & Myers has filed suit against MGA Entertainment seeking payment of $10.2 million in unpaid legal fees related to the company's long-running legal dispute with Mattel over ownership of the popular Bratz line of fashion dolls. The firm filed the suit against Van Nuys, CA-based MGA in Los Angeles County Superior Court in July. O'Melveny & Myers LLP v. MGA Entertainment Inc.

Bratz dolls are one of the most profitable products made by MGA, which manufactures children's toys and accessories. The company's copyright infringement battle with Mattel, the world's largest toy maker, ended in August 2008 with a $100 million judgment in favor of Mattel.

During a three-month trial, Mattel alleged that a former employee, Carter Bryant, had developed the sketches for Bratz dolls while he was under contract with Mattel. In recent years, the Bratz line has matched ' if not surpassed ' Mattel's signature Barbie dolls in popularity and sales. As a result, El Segundo, CA-based Mattel, represented at the trial by John Quinn of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, accused MGA of infringing on its copyrights by using sketches from Bryant's stint at Mattel to develop the dolls.

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