Mattel - Lawsuits

Lawsuits

Some of the lawsuits involving Mattel are as follows:

• Mattel Lawsuit Seeks Lead Tests for Children. Class action wants toymaker to pay for medical testing.
• Shareholders File Lawsuit Against Mattel Over Toy Recalls
• In the early 1980s, Mattel – through its M Network division – released game cartridges for Atari 2600 consoles. However, once Atari began to release cartridges for Mattel's Intellivision console, Mattel filed a lawsuit against Atari alleging theft of Mattel's trade secrets.
• Mattel sued the band Aqua, saying their song violated the Barbie trademark and turned Barbie into a sex object, referring to her as a "Blonde Bimbo." The lawsuit was finally rejected in 2002.
• Mattel was involved in legal proceedings with Super Duper Publications in an attempt to suppress Super Duper's use of the words "and say" in their therapy products. Super Duper Publications specializes in materials for use in special education classrooms but Mattel accused Super Duper of diluting their "See N' Say" product line. Mattel won the legal battle and was awarded $400,000 in penalties. They are now seeking millions of dollars to pay for their legal expenses and costs.
• Mattel Inc. defeated MGA Entertainment Inc. in a conflict over the creation of the Bratz doll line. The U.S. District Court in Riverside ruled that Bratz designer CEO, Carter Bryant, violated the terms of his exclusivity contract with Mattel. It was decided that he created the Bratz doll concept while he was working for Mattel. This decision will lead to the possibility for Mattel to claim right to the Bratz doll line as well as the right to receive damages.
• Mattel Inc VS MGA Entertainment. In April 2011, Mattel was forced to pay $88.5 million to MGA Entertainment in a dispute over the Bratz line of dolls. In the court ruling, the judges found that Mattel did not own drawings of Bratz dolls. The Bratz dolls hurt the sales of Barbie dolls significantly over the period of time that the Bratz dolls were on the market.