A federal judge has tentatively ruled that rapper T.I. and his wife, singer-songwriter Tameka “Tiny” Harris, should receive $17.8 million in profits from MGA Entertainment over a trademark dispute involving a doll line. Originally, the Harris family had been awarded over $71 million, but the judge has determined that MGA shouldn’t pay the $53 million in punitive damages.
The Harris family had successfully argued that the dolls copied their OMG Girlz, a former rap group that included Tiny’s daughter. U.S. District Judge James Selna stated that while MGA’s actions were negligent, they didn’t meet the legal threshold for willful infringement.
“At most, MGA and (owner Isaac) Larian were negligent about investigating an alleged claim of infringement, but not that they acted with reckless indifference or willfulness,” Selna wrote.
Despite this, the judge acknowledged evidence of the dolls resembling famous celebrities, saying that MGA’s designers had been confronted with copycat designs multiple times. Selna concluded that the $17.8 million would be sufficient to “deter” future violations.
“We’re just elated,” Tiny Harris said after the ruling. “The third time’s the charm,” she added, referring to the series of trials leading up to this point.
MGA’s lawyer, Paul Loh, countered by noting that the company had sold 45 million dolls without complaints.
“They’re receiving 100% of the profits. We believe that’s already substantial,” he argued, claiming it was punishment enough.
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