T.I. and Tiny awarded $71 million over L.O.L. dolls' likeness to R&B group
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, November 16, 2024


T.I. and Tiny awarded $71 million over L.O.L. dolls' likeness to R&B group
L.O.L. Surprise Dolls at the MGA Entertainment campus in Chatsworth, Calif., Dec. 9, 2019. A jury awarded $71 million to the Atlanta rapper T.I., born Clifford Harris, and his wife Tameka Harris, known as Tiny, on Monday, Sept. 24, 2024. The rapper and his wife said the company’s L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls violated the intellectual property rights of their music group, the OMG Girlz. (Kendrick Brinson/The New York Times)

by Annie Correal



NEW YORK, NY.- The dolls are small. The award is big.

The dolls in question are L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls, several-inch-tall plastic dolls with big eyes and colorful hair — part of a line of L.O.L. Surprise! dolls that often come in opaque packaging and that have been among the most popular toys of the past decade.

But these particular L.O.L. dolls, a jury ruled this week, looked way too much like the pop and R&B group OMG Girlz to be a coincidence.

That jury awarded $71 million to Atlanta rapper T.I., born Clifford Harris, and his wife, Tameka Harris, known as Tiny, on Monday. The jury found that toy giant MGA Entertainment had violated the intellectual property rights of their group, the OMG Girlz, with several of its dolls.

The OMG Girlz was a group created by the two more than a decade ago. Harris’ daughter Zonnique Pullins was a member of the group, which was formed in 2009 and broke up in 2015. They have since reunited to tour together.

The rapper and his wife have recently faced a host of allegations of sexual abuse and assault, which they have denied. They welcomed the results of this unrelated court battle.

“OMG! OMG!” said Tameka Harris in a live video posted to Instagram from outside a federal courthouse in Santa Ana, California, on Monday. “We wanted to thank the jurors for just seeing us through this, and just believing in what we said.”

MGA Entertainment, which could appeal the verdict, did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

Over the course of the three-week trial in Orange County, California, three of the members of the OMG Girlz testified that not only did the dolls’ name mimic their group’s — but the dolls’ outfits also resembled ensembles from specific events, according to Rolling Stone.

Last week, the Harrises pointed to similarities in the outfits and appearances of the dolls and the singers in an Instagram post with the caption, “Do these dolls look familiar?”

Fans also told the jury that they had assumed the dolls had been made to look like the group.

Lawyers for the toymaker, which was founded by Isaac Larian, argued that the dolls had not been made to resemble members of the group, which, they said, had not lasted long enough to be recognizable to customers. They said the musicians had not lost business opportunities because of the toys’ existence.

MGA Entertainment has reported that it had made billions from L.O.L. Surprise! doll retail sales.

This is the third trial — in four years — involving the lawsuit that Clifford and Tameka Harris filed against MGA Entertainment over the dolls. The first trial ended in a mistrial after the introduction of prohibited testimony on cultural appropriation. The verdict in the second trial, which was in favor of the toymaker, was overturned on appeal.

“It was a fight,” Tameka Harris said in her video.

MGA Entertainment was embroiled not long ago in another protracted legal battle with toy giant Mattel over its Bratz dolls.

The verdict against MGA Entertainment on Monday came amid controversy for the Harrises.

In January, Clifford and Tameka Harris were sued by a woman who said the couple drugged and raped her after they met at a Los Angeles nightclub around 2005. The case was dismissed in August but a lawyer for the plaintiff said that she planned to sue again.

That lawsuit came as several others accused the Harrises on social media and in news reports of sexual assault. The couple has denied the allegations, and no criminal charges have been filed. In early 2021, Clifford Harris said in an Instagram video that all of his sexual encounters had been consensual.

Clifford Harris, who turns 44 Wednesday, emerged as a pop star after years as a major figure in the Atlanta street rap scene. After repeated arrests involving drugs and firearms early in his life and career, he has in recent years become an actor, entrepreneur and activist, speaking out for civil rights and Black communities.

Tameka Harris, 49, is a member of the R&B group Xscape, and received a Grammy Award for writing contributions on TLC’s hit song “No Scrubs.” The two were married in 2010 after dating for many years and starred in the reality show “T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle,” which premiered on VH1 in 2011 and was suspended in 2021 amid the sexual assault allegations.

They have raised several children together, including Pullins, 28, who goes by the name Star as a member of OMG Girlz. The other original members of the group are Bahja Rodriguez, known as Beauty, and Breaunna Womack, known as Babydoll.

The three reunited this year to perform as part of a tour featuring Xscape and SWV titled “Queens of R&B.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.










Today's News

September 26, 2024

A leggy Tyrannosaur emerges from a Mexican desert

Free public art exhibition transforming Los Angeles after dark returns on October 5

Rare Harlem Renaissance sculpture and Tiffany silver among estate goods offered at Sterling Associates

Bellmans to sell rare study by Sir John Lavery

The Raclin Murphy Museum of Art receives major gift from the estate of Ernestine Morris Carmichael Raclin

MAGMA Gallery announces a new collaboration with the French artist Jules Dedet Granel, alias L'Atlas

ICA London opens Geumhyung Jeong's Under Construction

Christie's to offer the Danute and Alain Mallart Collection

Contemporary Bay Area artists featured in exhibition 'About Place: Bay Area Artists from the Svane Gift'

T.I. and Tiny awarded $71 million over L.O.L. dolls' likeness to R&B group

The Cleveland Museum of Art acquires Ancient Greek helmet and works by Dorothea Tanning and Rembrandt

Galerie Lelong & Co., New York presents a solo exhibition by Leonardo Drew

His father is leaving office. Is Hunter Biden's art market also over?

She found a home in music. Now she's the composer for the king.

The mushroom kingdom that Shigeru Miyamoto built

Kathryn Crosby, actress and Bing Crosby's widow, dies at 90

Jack DeJohnette, one of Jazz's great drummers, has a surprise

Exploring the roots of Mideast turbulence onstage

Naftali Herstik, renowned and influential cantor, dies at 77

moniquemeloche presents David Antonio Cruz's third solo exhibition with the gallery

What's eating Trump? The singing 'Ghost of John McCain'

Britain's National Theater director takes a final bow

How to Eliminate Feet Smells from Your Air Conditioner: A Step-by-Step Guide

DIY Solutions: What to Do When Your AC Breaks Down

Step-By-Step Guide To Apply Wonder Woman Makeup

How to Get Ready for Your Immigration Interview in Austin TX

How to Choose the Right ERP Software Development Partner?

Division of Property in a Divorce: A Comprehensive Guide




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful