A federal court in Santa Ana, California has awarded T.I. and Tameka "Tiny" Harris a $71 million judgment against toy manufacturer MGA Entertainment over intellectual property rights violations related to their L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. doll line.

The unanimous ruling includes $17.8 million in real damages and $53.6 million in punitive damages. The jury found that seven dolls copied the likeness and trade dress of the Atlanta-based OMG Girlz group, which T.I. and Tiny formed in 2009 with members Zonnique Pullins, Bahja Rodriguez, and Breaunna Womack.

This verdict comes after two previous attempts at litigation. The first ended in a mistrial due to barred testimony about cultural appropriation, while the second initially favored MGA Entertainment. A Supreme Court ruling in June 2023 allowed the case to be retried, emphasizing the importance of consumer confusion in infringement cases.

The jury also discovered that some dolls in MGA's 32-doll collection copied other artists' likenesses, including Lady Gaga and Beyoncé. The Harris' attorney, John R. Keville, had requested additional penalties between $35-72 million, while MGA's counsel argued for a smaller penalty range of $500,000 to $1 million.

The OMG Girlz, who recently reunited and are currently touring, all testified during the three-week trial. Their testimony helped establish the extent of the intellectual property violations and their impact on the group's brand identity.

Related Articles

Previous Articles