Dollmaker MGA hit with $71 mln verdict in 'OMG Girlz' trademark fight

Sept 24 (Reuters) - Toymaker MGA Entertainment must pay pop group OMG Girlz more than $71 million for copying its likenesses in a line of dolls, a California federal jury has determined.

The jury agreed with the group on Monday that MGA's "L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G." dolls violated its trademark and publicity rights following the third trial in the contentious case, an attorney for the group confirmed on Tuesday.

MGA spokespeople and attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the verdict. OMG Girlz attorney John Keville of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton said that the jury "did the fair, just and right thing by holding MGA fully accountable."

OMG Girlz was formed in 2009 by companies owned by rapper Clifford (T.I.) Harris and his wife, singer Tameka (Tiny) Harris, whose daughter Zonnique Pullins is in the group. MGA sued the Harrises' companies in 2021 to head off a potential lawsuit after receiving a cease-and-desist letter over its O.M.G. dolls.

The companies countersued, alleging MGA modeled the dolls after the group without permission. They argued that MGA copied the group's music and image in "brazen and astonishing" ways.

The dispute's first trial ended with a mistrial last January. U.S. District Judge James Selna said prohibited witness testimony that MGA stole ideas from the Black community may have irreparably biased the jury against the company.

A new jury ruled for MGA in a second trial last May. Selna ordered another new trial last September based on faulty jury instructions on the intersection of free speech and trademark law.

The case is MGA Entertainment Inc v. Harris, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 2:20-cv-11548.