Rapper T.I. and his wife Tiny Harris have been awarded a massive eight-figure judgment in their lawsuit against MGA Entertainment.
The 43-year-old rapper (born Clifford Joseph Harris Jr.) and his wife Tameka ‘Tiny’ Cottle-Harris, 43, received $71 million, via Diary.
The jury originally awarded $17.8 million in initial damages, plus $53.6 million in punitive damages, after the three-week trial in Santa Ana, California.
MGA Entertainment first launched its LOL Surprise! OMG doll line in 2019, and the Harrises filed a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement of the girl group they created called OMG Girlz, which was founded in 2009.
The first trial ended in a mistrial in January 2023, and the second trial later that year resulted in a victory for MGA, as the couple was also accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2005.
Rapper T.I. and his wife Tiny Harris have been awarded a massive eight-figure judgment in their lawsuit against MGA Entertainment
Harris’ lawsuit is due to an infringement against the girl group they created called OMG Girlz, founded in 2009.
MGA Entertainment first launched its LOL Surprise! OMG doll line in 2019
However, a Supreme Court ruling in July 2023 allowed the case to be retried to give more weight to the significance of customer confusion in the marketplace.
The new trial focused on seven of the 32 dolls produced by MGA Entertainment, and the jury concluded that all seven copied the group’s image and trade dress.
The jury found that MGA infringed the group’s image on some, but not all, of the remaining 25 dolls, although some were copied from other artists such as Lady Gaga and Beyoncé.
Harris’ attorney, John Keville, suggested the jury should award MGA between $35 million and $72 million, in addition to $17 million in regular damages, and the jury should decide on a $53.6 million award.
MGA maintained that the group disbanded when they launched their toy line and that the dolls did not “harm” the group in terms of business opportunities since they were no longer together.
Harris’ attorney argued and showed examples of customer confusion on social media, adding that these dolls prevented the Harrises from manufacturing their own toy line.
The entire group testified at the trial, along with the Harrises, who claimed the appearances were stolen from their appearances at specific public events.
TI and Tiny founded the group in 2009, which consisted of Tiny’s daughter Zonnique “Star” Pullins, Bahja “Beauty” Rodriguez, and Breaunna “Babydoll” Womack.
However, a Supreme Court ruling in July 2023 allowed the case to be retried to give more weight to the importance of customer confusion in the marketplace.
The new trial focused on seven of the 32 dolls produced by MGA Entertainment, and the jury concluded that all seven copied the group’s image and trade dress.
Harris’ attorney, John Keville, suggested the jury should award MGA between $35 million and $72 million, in addition to $17 million in regular damages, and the jury decided to pay $53.6 million.
TI and Tiny founded the group in 2009, which consisted of Tiny’s daughter Zonnique “Star” Pullins, Bahja “Beauty” Rodriguez, and Breaunna “Babydoll” Womack.
They released several singles between 2009 and 2014 before breaking up in 2015, only to briefly reunite in 2018 on the Great Xscape Tour.
They released their first single in over a decade in 2023 and joined the Queens of R&B Tour in the summer of 2024.
The group released their latest single Motion on August 2.
The group individually took on a number of solo projects before recently reuniting.
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