Back in September, a judge ruled that T.I. and Tiny Harris would be awarded $17.8 million for real damages and $53.6 million in punitive damages from MGA Entertainment following the couple’s lawsuit over the OMG Girlz intellectual property. They accused the toy company of releasing L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls dolls eerily similar to the likeness of the OMG Girlz.
The first two attempts at suing resulted in mistrials, but the third and final attempt led to the roughly $71 million ruling. However, on Monday (Jan. 6), U.S. District Judge James Selna found insufficient evidence proving MGA Entertainment infringed on the OMG Girlz’s trademark.
Under the Lanham Act, proof of intentional infringement is important for such cases to be awarded in punitive damage—meaning that $53.6 million of the original award will not be granted.
The Lanham Act states “a plaintiff that establishes trademark infringement is entitled to recover the defendant’s profits,” but there are “judicial discretion.”
After the initial ruling, Tiny expressed to PEOPLE, “We wanted to thank the jurors for just seeing us through this and believing in what we said. They heard our story and knew we weren’t lying. It’s amazing.”
T.I. added, “It’s a testament to the relentless resilience of my wife, daughter, and nieces. We’re just happy we were able to come out on top and fight for creatives and our intellectual property.” His attorney, John Keville, later thanked the jury for “standing up to MGA’s bullying and misrepresentations.”
The OMG Girlz reunited in 2023 and opened up for SWV and Xscape’s Queens of R&B tour in 2024.
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