Bratz deadline extended

MGA Entertainment Inc. may have been convicted of violating Mattel’s copyright over their Bratz toy dolls, and they may have to pay a whopping $100 million in restitution for it, but it appears that the judge in the case has decided it’s more important for MGA to stay in business than it is to uphold Mattel’s copyright, at least until the end of the year, that is.


Under the original terms of the court’s decision, MGA Entertainment Inc. would be prevented by injunction from manufacturing and selling the Bratz toy dolls as of February 11th.

But MGA argued that doing so would cause toy retailers from ordering the toys and would cause irreparable financial damage to the MGAs bottom line. As such, the judge in the case granted them a reprieve which would allow MGA to continue making Bratz toys for most of 2009. Again. Huh?

I rather thought that was the whole point of the fine and the injunction – to prevent the violators of the copyright from continuing to violate said copyright. And it would seem logical to assume that a hefty fine and injunction would cause financial harm, but that is the punishment for causing financial harm on the original copyright holders, isn’t it?

No word on Mattel’s next move in this chess game, but if this decision is allowed to stand, it will only serve as precedent for other pirates seeking to leach of someone else’s intellectual property.