The Bratz may be hosting their final slumber party next month. That’s because a federal judge ruled that MGA Entertainment, the maker of the popular, pouty-lipped dolls, has been violating a copyright held by Mattel, manufacturer of the Bratz’ archrival for the affections of 6-year-old girls — Barbie. Judge Stephen Larson in Riverside, Calif., has ordered MGA to stop making and selling the Bratz dolls after the holiday shopping season, a ruling MGA’s chief executive, Isaac Larian, calls “shocking and unfair” and says he plans to appeal. The copyright-infringement case is the latest — and may be the last — controversy to befall the seven-year-old dolls, whose maker has come under fire for everything from sexualizing girls to encouraging them to imitate the dolls’ expression of ennui. Arriving in toy stores when Barbie was hitting her ho-hum 40s, the Bratz dolls brought multiculturalism and an urban attitude to the blonde-ocracy of the fashion-doll aisle. Bratz have ethnically indeterminate names like Yasmin and Jade and come in an array of hues. The Bratz’ skimpy clothes and hooded eyes make them look like bored socialites at a club opening — as if they’re waiting for someone cooler to come and play with them. All that “sass,” as toy analysts termed the Bratz’ apathetic aesthetic, may have horrified some parents, but it sold well with little girls, who made the dolls a more than $2 billion franchise, with their own feature film, hair extensions and, of course, clothing line. Fortunately the fans’ attire is more playground appropriate than the dolls’ micro-miniskirts, fishnet stockings, feather boas and midriff-baring tops. The only thing missing from the Bratz’ vast array of saucy accessories is a teeny, tiny stripper pole. The American Psychological Association’s Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls singled out the Bratz dolls last year, saying “It is worrisome when dolls designed specifically for 4- to 8-year-olds are associated with an objectified adult sexuality.” By then, however, the Bratz had stolen enough of Mattel’s market share that the world’s biggest toy company was retaliating with lines of Bratz wannabes: the puffy-lipped My Scene Barbie and hip-hop-influenced Flavas. Neither matched the Bratz in appeal, however, and the Flavas are now defunct. Unable to beat the Bratz, Mattel set out to reclaim the dolls it said it rightfully owned in the first place. The Bratz were created by former Barbie designer Carter Bryant, who Mattel claimed had invented the dolls while he was still under contract with the company in 1999. In July, a California jury agreed and awarded Mattel up to $100 million in damages.
