No room for Bratz in doll's house

Sales of children’s favourite Bratz dolls will cease after Christmas following a successful four-year legal dispute led by toy giant and makers of Barbie dolls, Mattel, against rival doll producer, MGA Entertainment.  However, Mattel might have avoided court action if it had better managed its intellectual property, according to patent attorneys at Withers & Rogers LLP.

Dave Croston, patent attorney at Withers & Rogers LLP, comments:

“Businesses should be aware that employees hold valuable intellectual property.  The issue for Mattel arose when an ex-employee walked away with a strong and profitable idea.  Mattel has been fortunate that the jury’s ruling found that Bratz designer, Carter Bryant, developed the concept for the dolls while working for Mattel.  The company’s failure to identify and hold onto its knowledge at an early stage has resulted in costly court proceedings and a significant loss of market share for Barbie.”

The jury awarded Mattel $10 million for copyright infringement and $90 million for breach of contract after a lengthy trial which started in 2004.  Since the launch of Bratz in 2001, sales of Barbie have declined – in 2007 sales of Barbie fell by 15 per cent.

Croston adds: “In the intervening period since the case was first presented, Bratz has grown into a popular and profitable brand.  The awareness of the Bratz brand amongst its young market should help MGA Entertainment reinvent itself and ride out the storm.”

He concludes: “This case should act as a strong warning to businesses to develop better systems to manage intellectual property, particularly in the current economic downturn where we are seeing escalating job losses and redundancies.  Carrying out a regular audit to identify areas where knowledge should be retained should form a key strategy for successful businesses.”