The Bratz Dolls have gotten a reprieve
of sorts. In the seemingly never-ending lawsuit between Mattel and MGA Entertainment over the dolls, a judge has ruled that MGA can sell the Bratz dolls through the end of 2009, even though they infringe on Mattel's copyright.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson "indicated he will be modifying his Dec. 3 stay ... to allow purchases and sales (of Bratz items)" beyond a previously set deadline of Feb. 11, MGA attorney Tom Nolan said.
MGA had asked Larson to postpone his order barring the company from selling products that infringe on Mattel's (MAT.N) copyrights until MGA can appeal the ruling to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
A Mattel representative had no immediate comment.
MGA told the court retailers were skittish about placing orders for spring and fall of 2009 because of uncertainty about whether the toys would be available, Nolan said.
MGA has invested "tens of millions of dollars" developing spring and fall Bratz lines and is awaiting orders from retailers in January, Nolan said.
"Retailers wanted assurances that if they buy them they can sell them," he said.
It was not immediately clear whether MGA would keep profits from those sales or if they would be placed in an escrow account until the appeals process is completed.
Our guess is that the money from the sales will be placed into an escrow account pending a determination as to how much is profit. Presumably, the profits will go to Mattel because it owns the rights to the dolls now.
The Bratz Dolls have gotten a 
