T.I. and his spouse Tameka “Tiny” Harris’ profitable win in the lawsuit against the doll company LOL Surprise! and its parent MGA Entertainment may face a considerable reduction.
Although the toy giant was initially mandated to pay a staggering $71 million for being deemed liable for breaching intellectual property rights, a judge is contemplating reducing the awarded amount by 75 percent.
In a recent filing, Judge James Selna suggested the possibility of lowering the payment to the Harrises to slightly under $18 million, which is a cut of more than $53 million.
This is due to Selna’s view that there is insufficient evidence to show that MGA acted in bad faith, which would justify punitive damages.
The judge has not yet reached a final ruling in the matter, and as journalist Meghann Cuniff reported, mentioned: “There’s much to consider.” “I want to set this aside for a few days and return to it with a fresh perspective.”
T.I. and Tiny filed a lawsuit against MGA, alleging that they replicated the likeness of their girl group, OMG Girlz.
The decision determined that seven dolls in the product line reproduced the group’s likeness, which also included the couple’s daughter Star, who testified at the hearing, along with her bandmates.
Along with applauding their final win, T.I. took aim at MGA during an interview with Rolling Stone once the case came to a close.
“They were attempting to portray me as the villain when, in fact, they were the wrongdoers,” he stated. “They were the ones who came and cheated us, and [they] anticipated that we wouldn’t have the nerve to defend ourselves.”
The Grand Hustle executive remarked: “Such condescension arises when you lose connection with cultural realities after having things go your way for an extended period, with no one truly opposing or challenging you.”
He also charged the toy giant with employing “bully tactics” throughout the legal conflict.
MGA repeatedly refuted claims of copyright violation, asserting that the dolls were not inspired by the recently reunited girl group, and through their lawyers criticized T.I. and Tiny for filing the lawsuit, even calling the couple “extortionists.”
