Guys and (their fights over) Dolls

The jury trial for the Mattel and MGM folks, who have been sparring in court over the rights to Bratz dolls– created by a Mattel worker while allegedly under the company’s employ–has come to an end. Apparently, this man signed a contract giving Mattel rights to anything he designed while working for them.

Hmmm. I’m dying to see this contract and what it contains. If this guy created a great new recipe for Rotisserie Chicken in his home kitchen, would Mattel have wanted that too? What if he whipped up some new designer jeans over the weekend? I’m curious; just what kind of personal creativity does such a contract cover?

And why the conflict?

Bratz dolls have indeed been popular, and while some of the outfits are kind of cute, many of these little creatures are sexed-up versions of classic dolls that have been around for years.

Must companies to market dolls in suggestive clothing and overdone makeup to young girls?

 So to sum up, it sounds as though this case was about:

1. Corporate control of individuals

2. Men fighting for ownership of scantily-clad young women.

Oh yeah. We’ve come a long way, baby.