T.I. and Tiny Secure $71 Million Victory in Trademark Lawsuit Against Toymaker
T.I. and Tameka “Tiny” Harris emerged victorious in their lawsuit against MGA Entertainment, successfully proving that the toy company infringed on the intellectual property rights of their music group, the OMG Girlz, through its L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls.
According to the Daily Journal, on Monday (Sept. 23), a federal jury in Santa Ana, Calif., awarded the couple $17.8 million in actual damages and an additional $53.6 million in punitive damages following the three-week trial.
After winning the $71 million court battle that spanned several years, the Xscape singer took to Instagram Live to express her joy. “We did this for the city. We did this for the culture.” Reflecting on the case, which began in 2020, she said, “It was a fight. It was a hell of a fight. We couldn’t be more happy.”
Tiny also made sure to extend gratitude to the jurors. “We wanted to thank the jurors for just seeing us through this and just believing in what we said. They heard our story, and they knew we wasn’t lying. It’s amazing.”
The unanimous ruling found that of the seven dolls presented (from a total of 32), all copied the Atlanta-based group’s likeness and trade dress. The jurors found that more than a dozen L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls “infringed on the trade dress and misappropriated the name, image, and likeness of the all-female band that T.I. and Tiny formed in 2009.”
This marks the Grammy-winning duo's third attempt at legal action. The initial trial, held in January of last year, ended in a mistrial after jurors were exposed to inadmissible testimony alleging cultural appropriation by MGA Entertainment. A second trial, held months later, resulted in a victory for MGA. However, a June 2023 Supreme Court ruling paved the way for a retrial, determining that consumer confusion about a product should hold more significance in intellectual property infringement cases than previously considered.
The OMG Girlz, formed in 2009, consists of Bahja Rodriguez, Breaunna Womack, T.I., and Tiny’s eldest daughter, Zonnique Pullins. Although the group disbanded over the years, the members have since reunited and are on tour following the release of a new single earlier last month.
