Mattel is suing MGA Entertainment Inc., the company that makes Bratz, for stealing the idea of the Bratz doll. Mattel wants the Bratz line -- and its $500 million dollars in sales each year -- turned over to Mattel. The story is that Mattel created the Bratz dolls line, but scrapped the idea because of fears that it would steal market share from Barbie (boy, did that turn out to be true). The creator, Carter Bryant, created the Bratz line when he working at Mattel, which would make his ideas owned by Mattel. Bryant sold the idea to MGA and and the rest is history.
Bryant says he was between stints at Mattel when he thought of the idea, which sounds like a pretty weak defense to us, especially in light of the fact that MGA went out of its way to hide the fact that Bryant was the creator of the line. Now Mattel wants its Bratz idea back. The case is set for a jury trial and it's going to get ugly: the toy business is absolutely ruthless. Here's a sum up:
