Clash of the Titans: when US toymaking giants collide
N Janardhan Rao · Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice · 2018
It is perhaps rare, when taking stock of an influential or landmark case, for the intellectual property practitioner to consider the individual players involved in that dispute: Who were they? What motivated them? What effect did the case have on their lives and relationships? In You Don’t Own Me, however, this is precisely the driving force behind the author’s work. Lobel gives a profoundly human account of the blockbuster litigation that took place over a decade (2004–14) between Mattel and MGA, the respective owners of the globally celebrated Barbie and Bratz dolls. Mattel designer Carter Bryant’s decision to sell his Bratz sketches to MGA is described within the context of his frustrations at Mattel and his own stifled creativity. The trials themselves are depicted as a personal battle between the two company CEOs and their (very different) belief systems, presided over by a succession of colourful and opinionated judges. Lobel writes a compelling narrative of how these characters interacted and developed throughout the Barbie/Bratz story, with impressive detail and authority.