Barbie-maker drops Bratz lawsuit
Barbie-maker Mattel has dropped its lawsuit against a former employee over the design of the rival Bratz dolls, a lawyer for the giant toymaker said today.
In a motion posted online on the eve of jury selection, Mattel said it wanted claims and counterclaims against Carter Bryant to be dismissed with prejudice.
"We have reached a settlement that includes dismissal of claims against Carter Bryant," said John Quinn, a lawyer representing Mattel.
He said the motion had been approved by a judge. Quinn declined further comment.
The motion posted online also called for Mattel and Bryant to pay their own lawyer fees.
Lawyer John Keker, who represents Bryant, declined to comment.
Mattel's copyright infringement lawsuit still seeks a piece of the Bratz franchise marketed by MGA Entertainment.
Jury selection in that case is scheduled to begin tomorrow in Riverside federal court in Los Angeles.
Mattel filed the original lawsuit in 2004 against Bryant, one of its former doll designers, accusing him of wrongfully selling his Bratz ideas to privately held MGA while he was under contract to Mattel.
Bryant has said he became inspired to create Bratz between two stints at Mattel, and it wasn't anything more than an idea until he left the company.
In a prepared statement, MGA said it was pleased that Mattel was dropping the case against Bryant.
"After years of aggressively pursuing litigation against a talented artist, Mattel has finally acknowledged that its suit against Carter Bryant was without merit," the statement said. "We only regret that justice for MGA will have to wait until the full story of this litigation is presented to a jury." :D
