Mattel Ordered to Pay $309 Million

Who says dolls are just for kids? A federal judge ordered Mattel to pay $309 million to MGA Entertainment Inc. in the lawsuit over the Bratz doll line. Mattel says that Bratz creator Carter Bryant worked at the company when he came up with the idea for the Bratz dolls, and that he then broke the terms of his “inventions agreement” when he gave the idea to MGA. However, Bryant claims he came up with the idea for Bratz dolls while he was on break from Mattel. The ruling was a massive change from the first trial over the Bratz dolls in 2008, when a jury awarded Mattel $100 million. The chief executive of MGA said, “I feel vindicated and I’m very excited.”