RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) - The designer of the popular Bratz dolls testified
Thursday that he had shopped the concept to other companies while he was
employed by Mattel Inc.
Carter Bryant said during a copyright infringement trial that in 1999 he
took some of the drawings depicting the urban-themed dolls to an agency that
represents artists.
The sketches were eventually accepted by MGA Entertainment Inc., and the
dolls hit shelves in mid-2001.
Bryant, 39, previously said he developed the original drawings in 1998
between two employment stints with Mattel.
The timing of the creation is a key point in Mattel's suit against MGA.
Mattel, the world's biggest toy maker, claims it owns the rights to the
Bratz franchise because Bryant created the concept while employed at Mattel.
If jurors find that Mattel's rights were infringed, the toy maker could
collect hundreds of millions of dollars in licensing fees.
Mattel attorney Bill Price asked Bryant if he went to the artists agency
while working for Mattel.
"Yeah, I didn't think there was anything wrong with that," Bryant said.
Later he added, "When I created these drawings, I didn't have the foggiest
idea of what they would become."
Bryant signed an agreement that gave Mattel the right to anything he
designed while employed by the El Segundo-based company, Mattel lawyers have
said.
Instead, Bryant is accused of taking the proposed dolls to MGA, which
produced the line and sold millions around the world.
Mattel reached a confidential settlement with Bryant on the eve of the trial
and dropped its lawsuit against him.
Mattel maintained Bryant worked for the company between September 1995 and
April 1998 then returned in January 1999 and left in October 2000.
Soft-spoken and seemingly unfazed by pointed questions, Bryant testified the
sketches seen by MGA were transferred from originals he came up with in the
summer of 1998.
"The head, the pose, they are from old drawings," Bryant said as he looked
at one of his creations.
Bryant said he didn't believe there was any harm in working on the dolls
while he was still employed at Mattel. He said he used company fax machines,
enlisted the help of fellow employees, and enhanced existing drawings while he
worked at the company.
MGA CEO Isaac Larian previously testified that Bryant has made $30 million
in royalties over the past seven years. On Thursday, Bryant pegged the figure at
"several million dollars."
Larian told jurors that he met with Bryant in September 2000 and discussed
the Bratz design.
Bryant's drawings became the inspiration for the dolls, but it was the
financial backing of Los Angeles-based MGA that made Bratz a reality, Larian
said.
MGA has countersued, saying Mattel changed the design of its own "My Scene"
dolls to more closely resemble the Bratz line and used its leverage with
retailers to stifle competition.
Mattel filed the original lawsuit four years ago. The company also alleges
MGA tried to boost its profits by pilfering other confidential and proprietary
information.
MGA also denied those allegations.
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