With his usual aplomb, Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th Circuit casually eviscerated the trial court’s decision in last year’s Barbie vs. Bratz battle, opining that Carter Bryant’s contract with Mattel did not cover “ideas” (only “inventions”) and that it simply wouldn’t be fair to hand Barbie the keys to her her little sister’s billion dollar doll factory. In Kozinski’s words:
It is not equitable to transfer this billion dollar brand—the value of which is overwhelmingly the result of MGA’s legitimate efforts—because it may have started with two misappropriated names. The district court’s imposition of a constructive trust forcing MGA to hand over its sweat equity was an abuse of discretion and must be vacated.
The full opinion is quite entertaining. For those who want more details from the pundits, please see the Wall Street Journal article and the slightly different take by Bloomberg.
I am a commercial litigator and intellectual property lawyer in San Francisco. Although my practice encompasses a wide variety of business disputes, I have a particular fondness for, and am prone to wax philosophical on, the subjects of copyright and trademark infringement in music, literature, art, and film.
Whether you agree or disagree with the opinion, you have to credit to Kozinski for writing a great narrative.
Yes, it’s nice to have a wordsmith on the court who finds humor in . . . well, basically everything. A good epigram and/or newsworthy quote is the hallmark of almost all his opinions these days.
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