(RightWing.org) – The makers of a popular doll were celebrating on Wednesday after a lawsuit ended in a mistrial. MGA Entertainment has been accused of intellectual property infringement against a rapper and a teen band. However, the plaintiffs made the mistake of bringing woke theories into the courtroom — and a federal judge responded by throwing out their case.
Controversial Dolls
Chatsworth, California-based MGA Entertainment is the creator of the “L.O.L. Surprise!” brand, a series of dolls whose unique selling point is that you don’t know exactly what’s in the box until you open it. Cynics might say it’s a great way to get kids to keep pestering parents to buy them until they’ve collected all the options; marketing experts would say… well, pretty much the same thing. However you look at it, the dolls are extremely popular with children. However, it turns out they’re less popular with rapper T.I. and girl group OMG.
In 2009 Tameka “Tiny” Cottle formed a new teen girl group, OMG Girlz!, which consisted of her daughter and the daughters of three of her friends. Cottle, who married rapper Clifford “T.I.” Harris the next year, claims she and her husband planned to release a line of licensed dolls based on the group’s members — a plan she says was stopped in its tracks when MGA released a new series of “L.O.L. Surprise! OMG” dolls. The Harrises claim the dolls resemble the members of OMG Girlz! (which broke up in 2015 but has now reformed as OMG!) and say the toy company is using their intellectual property without permission; this culminated in a cease and desist letter ordering MGA to stop producing the dolls.
MGA quickly responded with a lawsuit calling for a legal declaration that stated they didn’t infringe on the Harris’s intellectual property and cited a survey of 1,500 customers who found “zero people believed the dolls look like the OMG Girlz.” In turn, the musicians countered with a claim the dolls — which are not realistic depictions of a human — were “misappropriat[ing] the likeness of black female artists.”
Woke Argument Fails Badly
Introducing the woke concept of “cultural appropriation” turned out to be a serious mistake for T.I. and Tiny. After one witness delivered what MGA called “nothing less than a rant,” the company quickly filed a motion calling for a mistrial. The company said the witness’s testimony was “incurably prejudicial” and improper. On January 25, Judge James V. Selma decided they were right and declared a mistrial.
With woke dogma seemingly creeping into every aspect of life, it’s a surprise — and a reason for optimism — when it hits a roadblock like this.
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