In a shocking ending to a long trial, T.I. and Tiny have lost their copyright infringement lawsuit against the L.O.L. Surprise! doll maker MGA Entertainment.While many agreed that the top-selling dolls resemble the former girl group, a jury sided with the powerhouse doll company.
Rapper T.I. and his wife Tiny initially sued MGA Entertainment for allegedly stealing the name, likeness, and trade dress of OMG Girlz, the pop trio Tiny founded in 2009 — when the company launched its “L.O.L. Surprise OMG” dolls in 2019.
The case first went to trial in January, but a mistrial was declared after T.I. and Tiny’s lawyer accused MGA of “racist cultural appropriation.”
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The $100 million lawsuit went back to trial this month, and after arguments related to 31 potentially infringing dolls were made, the jury ultimately needed less than two hours to rule in favor of MGA Entertainment, Legal Affairs and Trials reported.
Following the verdict, MGA CEO Isaac Larian called T.I. and Tiny’s lawsuit a “shakedown.” “I’m not happy because I wasted a lot of time, energy — my employees’ time, energy — to deal with an extortion,” Larian said. “They knew from the beginning they don’t have a case, and they brought it anyways. And they picked on the wrong guy.”
