It looks like T.I. and Tiny have officially lost their copyright infringement battle against toymaker MGA Entertainment over their L.O.L. Surprise doll.
The famed musical and reality television couple initially went after the manufacturer with a cease and desist letter in December 2020. This came after the L.O.L. Surprise OMG doll debuted in 2019, three years after the original L.O.L. Surprise doll hit the shelves. T.I. and Tiny believe that the OMG doll specifically was modeled after the OMG Girlz, which she founded in 2009. The group consisted of sisters Bahja and Lourdes Rodriguez and Tiny’s daughter, Zonnique Pullins. Last year, Pullins shared an Instagram post highlighting the similarities between her former group and the popular doll.
“Do these dolls look familiar? Let me know your thoughts in the comments,” she wrote. The graphic featured an image of the dolls above the OMG Girlz group members. The plastic toys had similar bright-colored hairdos and outfits to the group. The rap trio was known for its colorful looks.
Following the cease and desist letter, MGA sued Tiny. She and her husband responded by counter-suing the company for $100 million. In their copyright claim, the Harris’s claimed the company used the group’s likeness, including their hair and costumes, to create the OMG doll line. The case eventually went to trial in January but ended in a mistrial. It was retried in May, calling into question 31 dolls that the Harris’s claimed mimicked the OMG Girlz. However, a jury took less than two hours to side with MGA, securing a second victory. MGA Entertainment CEO Isaac Larian called T.I. and Tiny’s lawsuit “an extortion.”
Their court case may have ended in defeat, but Tiny and the OMG Girlz are working hard on new music. They plan to unveil their work in the upcoming weeks.
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