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Law Offices of David L. Hoffman

"TURNING NEW IDEAS, NAMES, PRODUCTS & COMPUTER PROGRAMS INTO POWERFUL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY"

Newsletter 

Spring 2010

EVEN THE TOY INDUSTRY CAN BE A JUNGLE A few years ago, Mattel (Barbie® dolls) sued MGA Entertainment (Bratz® dolls) claiming that former Mattel designer Carter Bryant had the idea for Bratz® dolls while still at Mattel. Mattel also sued Mr. Bryant personally. A short while ago, the court found that Mattel does own the Bratz® doll, but judgment is stayed pending appeal. Mattel also personally sued a former executive who went to MGA to preclude trade secrets from being divulged. Recently, MGA sued Brookstone, Rooftop Group, and QVC for copyright infringement and other claims. According to the Complaint, MGA makes a remote control toy vehicle called "Land Sea RC" and holds registered copyrights on it.  The complaint alleges that Rooftop arranged for manufacture of a product called "RC Land-and-Sea Mobile," and sells to Brookstone and QVC.  The complaint did not attach any visual evidence of what the two products look like. Even more odd to me, the Complaint was not filed by a large law firm. Instead, it was filed by an attorney who appears to be in house counsel for MGA. In my opinion, this suit looks weak due to the failure to show the visual evidence as well as its apparently having been filed by in house counsel. Perhaps the MGA v. Brookstone et al suit should not have been brought. However, it clearly shows that companies that are growing, stepping into new markets, and/or introducing new products need to stay clear of what I call the "gray zone" if they want to stay out of court. The "gray zone" is where you may believe or think you do not infringe, but the company already in that space may take the opposite view. Sincerely, David Hoffman Law Offices of David L. Hoffman 28494 Westinghouse Place, Suite 204 Valencia, California 91355 (661) 775-0300 (661) 775-9423 Fax David@DLHpatent.com DLHpatent.com Go To Hoffman Law Register Now News Related Topics More On Us

Tip of the Month Whenever a key executive or employee is about to leave a client, an exit interview should be conducted to ensure the company's trade secrets will not be shared with a competitor or otherwise used or divulged.