Pop Group OMG Girlz Awarded $71.5M Payout Over Infringing Dolls

A toy company is ordered to pay a $71.5 million (£53m) settlement to the US teen pop group OMG Girlz for creating dolls that infringe upon their name and likeness, Sky News reported.

OMG Girlz took legal action against MGA Entertainment for its LOL Surprise! OMG dolls, arguing that the firm replicated their style and brand. On Tuesday, a California jury sided with the group, concluding that their intellectual property was infringed.

OMG Girlz sued MGA Entertainment, alleging their look and brand were appropriated. The lawsuit resulted in OMG Girlz receiving substantial damages: $17.9 million (£13.3m) in real damages and $53.6 million (£39.9m) in punitive damages for the company's violation of their "trade dress" and "name, likeness, and identity."

The award will be distributed among the group's three members – Zonnique Pullins, Bahja Rodriguez, and Breaunna Womack – as well as Pullins' mother, Tameka 'Tiny Harris', and stepfather, Chris T.I. Harris. Formed in 2009, OMG Girlz have 232,000 Instagram followers and celebrated their victory on social media.

"This is for creatives everywhere," Rodriguez stated in a post. "We will no longer be bullied into silence while others profit off our ideas and creativity."

The legal battle commenced in 2020 following MGA Entertainment’s refusal to comply with a cease-and-desist notice from OMG Girlz. Despite countersuits and multiple trials, including one declared a mistrial in January 2023, OMG Girlz triumphed.

MGA Entertainment denied the claims, calling them "baseless and offensive" in court. According to its lawyer, over 40 million dolls were sold without customer confusion. However, the jury's decision affirms OMG Girlz's stance that the company's dolls had indeed infringed upon their brand and likeness.

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