VAN NUYS, CA--(Marketwire - Jan 24, 2013) - Bratz doll maker, MGA Entertainment, Inc., prevailed again in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today when the high court found that a federal district court properly awarded MGA more than $137 million in attorney's fees and costs as a result of defending itself for years against Mattel's baseless claim to the Bratz dolls.
"We are gratified that the Ninth Circuit affirmed the largest fee and cost award in a copyright infringement case in U.S. history and continued to hold Mattel liable for pursing its frivolous claims against us," MGA CEO Isaac Larian said.
The Ninth Circuit also refused Mattel's request to dismiss with prejudice MGA's counterclaim against Mattel for its illegal, corporate-sponsored espionage. On a purely technical issue and having nothing to do with the merits of the claims, the Ninth Circuit found that MGA's trade secrets claim should not have been tried in the same case as Mattel's copyright claim. The Court's ruling allows MGA to bring its trade secrets claim in a new action. The first jury awarded MGA $85 million for Mattel's theft, which was doubled by the court in punitive damages for Mattel's willful and deliberate campaign of espionage.
"We remain thankful for all of the hard work done by the first jury and Judge Carter and we are confident that when the second jury hears about Mattel's sneaking into our showrooms and egregious theft of scores of our secrets over the years, they will be even more appalled than the first jury and award MGA even greater damages," Larian said.
Contact Information:
SSA Public Relations
Steve Syatt