Bad news for the Bratz in Barbie battle

Not only is my wife disapproving (we are a Barbie – or even Sindy household) but so is a judge in California. Barbie’s makers Mattel have won a landmark copyright-infringement case against Bratz maker MGA Entertainment. A Bratz designer was found guilty of developing the Bratz brand while still working for Mattel.

This news is pretty disastrous for MGA who have been told that after Christmas they must begin removing dolls from the shelves. They are banned from selling and making all 40 multi-ethnic dolls in the Bratz line.

The case, reported by the BBC has been rumbling since a judgement in August when Mattel was awarded up to $100m in the initial copyright infringement case. The bad news for Bratz is especially good for Mattel as Barbie has been losing ground to her rival upstarts. Barbie’s worldwide gross sales fell 6% between April and June 2008 as the company’s net profit fell 48% to $11.8m. Barbie sales in the US were down 21%.

I suspect we haven’t seen the last of the Bratz yet. MGA has striven to highlight the originality of its bestselling Bratz dolls, pointing out the originality of its additions, branding and packaging. And my daughter - a not so secret fan – considers the ruling a miscarriage of justice.