Rapper T.I. and his wife, singer-songwriter Tameka ‘Tiny’ Harris, have been awarded a whopping $71 million by a jury in their lawsuit against MGA Entertainment, the toy conglomerate they alleged violated the intellectual property rights of their teen pop group the OMG Girlz with their popular L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. line of dolls.
Per the Daily Journal, which first reported the news, jurors bequeathed the couple $17.8 million in real damages and $53.6 million in punitive damages at the end of the three-week trial held in a federal court in Santa Ana, Calif.
As previously reported, this is the Grammy-winning duo’s third attempt to sue: The initial trial, held in January of last year, ended in a mistrial when jurors heard barred testimony accusing the company of cultural appropriation. The second time, some months later, resulted in an MGA Entertainment victory; however, a June 2023 Supreme Court ruling allowed for the case to be retried, when it was deemed that consumer confusion about a product should carry more weight than previously regarded in infringement cases.
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. Though not all of the remaining dolls were found to have been constituting infringement, some were found to have copied artists like Beyoncé and Lady Gaga.
During the trial, T.I.’s (née Clifford Harris) lawyer, John Keville, said the jury should penalize MGA an extra $35 to $72 million to “send them a message,” per the Journal. Afterward, he thanked the eight jurors for “standing up to MGA’s bullying and misrepresentations.” Throughout, he showed social media postings of consumers who thought the dolls were inspired by the all-female band.
T.I. and Tiny formed the OMG Girlz in 2009 with Tiny’s daughter Zonnique “Star” Pullins as a core member. While the group has disbanded throughout the years, its members — Pullins, Bahja “Beauty” Rodriguez and Breaunna “Babydoll” Womack — reunited last year, and are currently touring with a new single released early last month. The trio attended the trial and testified, with T.I. and Tiny alleging the seven dolls copied the band’s appearance at specific public events.
