T.I. and Tiny granted a third trial in their lawsuit pertaining to MGA Entertainment dolls.
This ruling follows the mistrial in the first trial, and in the second trial, hip-hop moguls T.I. and his wife Tiny were unable to persuade a jury in May that MGA’s L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls had copied the appearance of a girl group overseen and co-owned by the Harrises, known as the OMG Girlz.
These recent developments mark the most recent twist in the feud between the Harrises and MGA. They weren’t entirely a surprise, given that U.S. District Judge James V. Selna had issued a preliminary ruling the previous week indicating his intention to order a new trial.
In a final order, Selna stated that MGA’s arguments had not persuaded him to deviate from his preliminary opinion. This opinion clarifies that the jury should not have been provided with instructions related to the “Rogers” test. This test permits the use of trademarks without authorization if they are part of a work that is “artistically expressive” and does not “explicitly mislead” consumers.
“At oral argument. MGA posited a somewhat tortured path to advance the argument that it was more probable than not that the jury’s verdict was unaffected by the Rogers instruction. The Court finds otherwise,” Selna wrote.
Throughout this legal dispute, racism, and cultural appropriation claims are directed at MGA. Conversely, MGA’s CEO denied the Harrises credibility while testifying and implied that the case amounted to “extortion.”
“Based on the foregoing. The Court finds MGA failed to meet its burden in establishing. Looking at the ‘proceedings as a whole,’ it was more probable than not that the jury would have the same verdict if the Rogers instruction was omitted,” Selna says.
