Rapper T.I. and his wife Tamika “Tiny” Harris have emerged victorious in a legal battle against toy giant MGA Entertainment, which they accused of infringing their intellectual property by creating a doll line called OMG Dolls. In their 2020 filing, the couple alleged that the dolls were based on members of the OMG Girlz, a group they founded in 2009.
The couple was awarded $17.8 million in actual damages and $53.6 million in punitive damages for the profits the company earned from toy sales.
On Monday, September 23, as People reported, Tiny expressed her happiness while leaving the federal courthouse in Santa Ana, California, saying she and her husband couldn’t be happier that “a huge battle” was over. She thanked jurors for backing up their story and confirming that she and her husband weren’t lying.
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Following the verdict, Tiny spoke to Rolling Stone about the win and the large sum of money they were awarded, saying, “They blessed us so much.”
According to the outlet, the jury found that more than a dozen OMG Dolls “infringed the trade dress and misappropriated the name, image and likeness of the all-female band members,” including Bahja Rodriguez, Breaunna Womack and Tiny’s eldest daughter, Zonnique Pullings.
Tiny has publicly taken aim at MGA several times over the past few years, including last week when she shared a photo of the girls together with the dolls on Instagram. The image had a text overlay asking, “Do these dolls look familiar?”
According to Rolling Stone, during the lawsuit, TI and Tiny accused MGA of selling at least seven dolls that mimicked the clothing and hairstyles worn by the OMG Girls at “very specific events.” For its part, the company denied any wrongdoing, even going so far as to call the famous family extortionists.
In a statement provided to the publication, T.I. called MGA’s comments disrespectful, stating that the company had been cowed by its actions for so long that it expected no one would challenge it. He also expressed his admiration for his wife, daughter, and nieces (referring to the other girls in the group) for their tireless and determined struggle and for setting an example against corporations who, in his words, believe that creative and intellectual rights are free for everyone to grab and use.
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