T.I. & ‘Tiny’ Harris, OMG Girlz Win $71 Million Judgment Against Toymaker MGA Entertainment
Photo Credit: Daily Journal
Rapper T.I. and his wife ‘Tiny’ Harris win a $71 million judgment against toy maker MGA Entertainment, which they say violated their IP rights.
Rapper T.I. and his wife, singer-songwriter Tameka “Tiny” Harris, just won a $71 million judgment in their lawsuit against toy company MGA Entertainment, whom they alleged violated their intellectual property rights with the popular L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. line of blind box dolls.
According to The Daily Journal, who first reported the news, the couple was awarded $17.8 million in real damages and $53.6 million in punitive damages following a three-week trial in federal court in Santa Ana, California.
The ruling was unanimous, finding that of the seven dolls presented, all copied the Atlanta-based OMG Girlz’s likeness and trade dress, in violation of the Harris’ IP rights. Of the 32 dolls in total, some of them were found to have copied other artists, like Lady Gaga and Beyoncé.
T.I. and Tiny formed the OMG Girlz in 2009, with Tiny’s daughter Zonnique “Star” Pullins as a member. The group has disbanded several times, but its members (Pullins, Bahja “Beauty” Rodriguez, Breaunna “Babydoll” Womack) reunited last year and are currently on tour. All three members testified at the trial.
This was the couple’s third attempt to sue — the initial trial last year ended in a mistrial when jurors heard barred testimony that accused the company of cultural appropriation. The second trial actually ended in MGA Entertainment’s victory, but a Supreme Court ruling in June 2023 allowed the case to be retried with the belief that consumer confusion about a product should carry more weight in an infringement case.
John R. Keville, a partner at Sheppard Mullin who represented the group and the Harris family, suggested the jury penalize the toy company further “to send them a message,” given the amount of likenesses they infringed. “You found seven, plus about seven more, I think,” he said, referring to the dolls which copied the likeness of other musicians. He argued MGA should be penalized an extra $35 million to $72 million.
In contrast, MGA’s counsel said if the jury awarded an extra penalty, a range between $500,000 and $1 million was more appropriate since the $17 million verdict already reflected 100% of the dolls’ profits.
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