The dolls are small, the prize is big.
The dolls in question are LOL Surprise! OMG dolls, several-inch-tall plastic dolls with large eyes and colorful hair – part of a line of LOL Surprise! dolls that often come in opaque packaging and which have been among the most popular toys of the last decade.
But this week a jury ruled that these particular LOL dolls bear too much of a resemblance to the pop and R&B group OMG Girls for that to be a mere coincidence.
That jury on Monday fined Atlanta rapper T.I., who was born Clifford Harris, and his wife Temeka Harris, known as Tiny, $71 million. The jury found that toy giant MGA Entertainment infringed the intellectual property rights of their group, the OMG Girlz, with several of its dolls.
The OMG Girls was a group the two formed more than a decade ago. Harris' daughter Zonnique Pullins was a member of the group, which was formed in 2009 and disbanded in 2015. They have since reunited to go on tour together.
The rapper and his wife have recently been accused of multiple sexual abuse and assault allegations, which they have denied. They welcomed the outcome of this unrelated court battle.
“Oh my God! Oh my God!” Ms Harris said in a live video posted on Instagram from outside the federal courthouse in Santa Ana, California, on Monday. “We want to thank the jurors for watching us through this and believing what we said.”
MGA Entertainment, which may appeal the ruling, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
According to Rolling Stone, during the three-week trial in Orange County, California, three members of the OMG Girls testified that not only did the dolls' name resemble their group's name — but the dolls' outfits also resembled costumes from special events.
Last week, Mr. and Ms. Harris pointed out similarities in the dolls’ and singers’ clothing and appearance in a post on Instagram captioned, “Do these dolls look familiar?”
Fans also told the jury that they assumed the dolls were made to look like the group.
Lawyers for the toy manufacturer, founded by Isaac Larian, argued that the dolls were not made to look like the group's members, who, they said, had not lasted long enough to be recognizable to customers. They said the musicians had not lost commercial opportunities because of the toys' existence.
MGA Entertainment has reported that it has earned billions of dollars from retail sales of L.O.L. Surprise! dolls.
This is the third lawsuit in four years – related to the suit filed by Mr and Ms Harris against MGA Entertainment over the dolls. The first suit ended in a mistrial after the introduction of prohibited testimony on cultural appropriation. The second trial resulted in a verdict in favour of the toy maker, which was overturned on appeal.
“It was a fight,” Ms Harris said in her video.
Not long ago, MGA Entertainment was embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with toy giant Mattel over its Bratz dolls.
The ruling against MGA Entertainment on Monday came amid controversy for Mr and Ms Harris.
In January, Mr. and Ms. 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 the plaintiff’s lawyer said she plans to sue again.
The lawsuit comes after several other people accused Mr. Harris and Ms. Harris of sexual assault on social media and in news reports. The couple has denied the allegations, and no criminal charges have been filed. In early 2021, Mr. Harris said in an Instagram video that all of his sexual encounters were consensual.
Mr. Harris, 43, emerged as a pop star after spending years as a prominent figure in the Atlanta street rap scene. After repeated arrests related to 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.
Ms. Harris, 49, is a member of the R&B group Xscape, and received a Grammy Award for her writing contributions on TLC's hit song “No Scrubs.” The two married in 2010 after dating for several years and starred in the reality show “TI & Tiny: The Family Hustle,” which premiered on VH1 in 2011 and was suspended in 2021 due to sexual assault allegations.
They have raised several children together, including Ms. Harris’s daughter, Ms. Pullins, 28, who goes by the name Star as a member of the OMG Girls. The other original members of the group are Bahja Rodriguez, known as Beauty, and Breaunna Womack, known as Babydoll.
This year, the three came together to perform on a tour called “Queens of R&B” with Xscape and SWV.
Joe Coscarelli Contributed reporting. Kirsten Noyes Contributed to research.