Mattel Incorporated
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Still Not Sold On Citi Or Microsoft (at Forbes.com)
www.forbes.com | 2 hours 25 minutes ago
Mister Softee lays an egg, and Citigroup still looks sketchy even after massive three-day gains.
Mattel Q2 2008 Earnings Call Transcript
www.topix.net | 4 hours 6 minutes ago
Mattel, Inc. July 18, 2008 8:30 am ET Executives Mike Salop - Investor Relations Robert A. Eckert - Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer Kevin M. Farr - Chief Financial Officer Analysts Sean McGowan - ...
http://www.topix.net/business/toys/2008/07/mattel-q2-2008-earnings-call-transcript
Toy maker Mattel's 2nd-quarter profit falls as costs offset higher sales
www.canadianbusiness.com | 7 hours 44 minutes ago
Mattel Inc. said Friday its second-quarter profit fell by nearly half as higher costs offset strong
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/headline_news/article.jsp?content=D920HNIO0
Microsoft Behaving Badly (at Minyanville.com)
www.minyanville.com | 8 hours 30 minutes ago
Business News and Financial commentary, analysis, insight and entertainment from over 30 market pros who make, know, and trade them better than anyone.Latest Market update on Jeff Cooper Daily Market Report
http://www.minyanville.com/articles/GOOG-YHOO-INTC-GS-MSFT-ibm/index/a/18099/from/yahoo
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ASM's Toy Fair 2006 Coverage
toyfair06.asmzine.com
Welcome to ASM's Toy Fair 2006 Coverage! We have our appointment list set, we've got folks in New York, and we've got images just waiting to show you. Check back later Saturday for continuing updates! Now, in the past we have had some server problems. Hopefully, we'll avoid all that.
ToyNews magazine for the toy business > www.toynewsmag.com
The monthly trade magazine for the toy business, ToyNews has brought a fresh approach to trade publishing within the market - combining ABC-audited high circulation with agenda-setting editorial quality.
ASM's Toy Fair 2007 Coverage
toyfair07.asmzine.com
You can't keep a good site down, can you? ASM is proud to be back in business for our Eighth year of independent Toy Fair coverage. No ads. No sponsors. Just you and us. You know the drill. Our team is in New York for the 2007 Toy Fair.
Barbie Dolls, Nightmare Before Christmas, Harry Potter & Disney Merchandise.
Welcome to Bill Bam's Collectibles Our store offers discount pricing on quality new release merchandise from leading manufactures such as Mattel, NECA, and Disney. Popular themes include Barbie Collectible Dolls, Nightmare Before Christmas, Harry Potter, and Disney Princesses.
News from Zibb.com
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Mattel Prevails over MGA in Ownership of Bratz Drawings - Zibb.com
RIVERSIDE, Calif., Jul 17, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Today in Federal Court, a 10-person jury has rendered a unanimous decision that the majority of Bratz design drawings, prototypes and sculpts were created by doll designer Carter Bryant while he was employed by Mattel. The jury has also determined that MGA and its CEO, Isaac Larian:
-- intentionally interfered with the contractual duties owed by Bryant to Mattel;
-- aided and abetted Bryant's breach of his duty of loyalty;
-- aided and abetted Bryant's breach of the fiduciary duties he owed to Mattel; and
-- converted Mattel property for their own use.
"This is a victory for all the hard-working people at Mattel who come together to create many of the most beloved toys for children. It is also a victory for all those who believe in fair play," said Robert A. Eckert, chairman and chief executive officer of Mattel, Inc.
He went on to say that "Mattel is home to many of the world's most talented toy designers - they are the creative engine of the company. We want to ensure that Mattel's Design Center is a place where concepts are built upon and enhanced by the entire team - not stolen for personal gain and to assist a competitor."
Under an Inventions Agreement with Mattel, Bryant assigned to Mattel all ownership rights of anything he created during his Mattel employment. Judge Stephen Larson, the Federal judge presiding over the case, previously had ruled that the Inventions Agreement is enforceable, and it applies to any Bratz-related "inventions" (including any designs, improvements, ideas, concepts, and copyrightable subject matter) that Bryant created during the period of his employment with Mattel. In addition, the Court ruled, as a matter of law, that Bryant breached his duty of loyalty to Mattel by "entering into a contract with Mattel's competitor, while still employed by Mattel, to produce a line of fashion dolls to be marketed in direct competition with Mattel's products."
In the next phase of the trial, due to begin shortly, the same jury will be asked to determine if Bratz dolls or related products infringe on the Bratz drawings and sculpts now owned by Mattel and whether certain procedural defenses asserted by MGA have merit. If the jury finds that the drawings do infringe, it will be asked to determine the amount of damages to be awarded to Mattel. On May 19, 2008, Bryant reached a confidential settlement with Mattel and is no longer a defendant in the litigation.
Mattel was represented by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP, a 400-strong lawyer business litigation firm - the largest in the United States devoted solely to business litigation. The litigation team was lead by John Quinn, founder and managing partner at the firm, and partners Bill Price and Mike Zeller.
The trial of Mattel, Inc. v MGA Entertainment, Inc. began on May 27th, 2008 in United States District Court for the Central District of California in Riverside, Calif., and is being presided over by the Honorable Stephen G. Larson, United States District Judge.
About Mattel
Mattel, Inc., (NYSE:MAT) (www.mattel.com) is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family products. The Mattel family is comprised of such best-selling brands as Barbie(R), the most popular fashion doll ever introduced, Hot Wheels(R), Matchbox(R), American Girl(R), Radica(R) and Tyco(R) R/C, as well as Fisher-Price(R) brands, including Little People(R), Power Wheels(R) and a wide array of entertainment-inspired toy lines. Mattel is recognized as one of 2008's "100 Best Companies to Work For" by FORTUNE Magazine. With worldwide headquarters in El Segundo, Calif., Mattel employs more than 30,000 people in 43 countries and territories and sells products in more than 150 nations. Mattel's vision is to be the world's premier toy brands -- today and tomorrow.
MAT-Corp
SOURCE: Mattel, Inc.
Mattel, Inc. Lisa Marie Bongiovanni, 310-252-3524 LisaMarie.Bongiovanni@mattel.com
Tags: business california ceo children contract employment entertainment family fashion federal law magazine manufacturer marketing nyse products property toys united states
Companies: Mattel, Inc. (MAT)
Mattel Wins Nearly Complete Victory In Copyright Infringement Case Against MGA - Zibb.com
Jul 18, 2008 (financialwire.net via COMTEX) --
July 18, 2008 (FinancialWire) Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) has won a nearly complete victory in its federal copyright infringement case against rival MGA Entertainment Inc. over which toymaker owns the original drawings for the $1 billion-plus Bratz fashion doll franchise.
The federal jury found that the creator of the multi-ethnic, big-headed dolls, Carter Bryant, created their characters and the name while he was under contract as a Barbie designer at Mattel.
The decision put Mattel in commanding position going into the damages phase of the trial, in which the jury will determine if the Bratz doll infringes on the drawings Mattel now owns and whether MGA owes Mattel damages as a result.
Other than four drawings that Bryant testified he made in a notebook while on an eight-month hiatus from Mattel in 1998, privately held MGA lost the rights to all drawings and sculpts of the Bratz.
The verdict could be the start of a reversal of fortune for MGA, which grew Bratz from drawings to a multibillion-dollar franchise in seven years as Mattel watched market share for its venerable Barbie line melt away. Barbie's sales troubles have extended into the first quarter of 2008, domestic sales fell 12 percent, while worldwide sales were flat compared with a year earlier.
Shares of Mattel rose 58 cents to close at $18.28 Thursday.
FinancialWire" is a fully independent, proprietary news wire service of Investrend Information (a division of Investrend Communications, Inc.). FinancialWire" news is written by professional journalists, dedicated to pure journalistic standards. FinancialWire" does not receive or accept any compensation from any individual or subject company (or representative thereof) for its news or opinions. All FinancialWire" news is available at http://www.financialwire.net . Please address any inquiries to feedback@financialwire.net .
Free annual reports for companies mentioned in the news are available at http://investrend.ar.wilink.com/?level=279 .
http://www.financialwire.net
Tags: communications contract entertainment fashion federal market share nyse sales standards
Companies: Mattel, Inc. (MAT)
Jury sides with Mattel in Bratz case - Zibb.com
RIVERSIDE, Calif., Jul 18, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) --
A federal jury in Riverside, Calif., found Bratz dolls were created by a Mattel Inc. contracted designer, possibly costing the doll's maker millions.
The jury ruled that MGA Entertainment Inc. and its owner Isaac Larian played an active role in helping designer Carter Bryant break his contract with Mattel, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The second phase of the trial will determine monetary damages for the contract breach that resulted in MGA producing the doll with the bare midriff that industry analysts say reaps as much as $2 billion in annual sales.
"This important principle has been confirmed by the jury. What MGA did was wrong," Mattel's Chief Executive Officer Robert Eckert said in a statement.
The two parties could reach an out-of-court settlement but Larian rejected that idea, the Times reported.
"I need to sleep good at night," Larian said. "I can't be in bed with them."
Bryant, who has made $30 million in royalties from Bratz sales, settled out of court with Mattel in May for an undisclosed amount, the Times reported.
www.upi.com
Tags: california ceo contract entertainment federal sales
Companies: Mattel, Inc. (MAT)
MGA Responds to Jury Verdict in First Phase of Trial Involving Bratz(TM) - Zibb.com
LOS ANGELES, Jul 18, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
For the past six weeks, MGA has battled a toy goliath in Mattel in a trial regarding when the Bratz(TM) idea and drawings were created by Carter Bryant, a former Mattel employee. As Tom Nolan, MGA's lawyer, told the jury during his closing argument, "Mattel wants to take ideas and drawings that they did not conceive of, that they did not draw and that they did not make."
Today the jury returned a verdict in what is only Phase 1(A) of the trial. There are significant issues that remain to be tried in Phase 1(B) of the trial, including whether Mattel owns any copyrights in Bryant's drawings. If so, the jury will decide whether MGA's Bratz(TM) dolls are infringed by any Mattel copyrights, and what the damages are (if any).
"Most importantly, the verdict issued today does NOT entitle Mattel to any rights whatsoever of Bratz," said Nolan, lead trial lawyer for MGA. "The verdict merely determined that certain drawings by Carter Bryant were created while he worked at Mattel."
As the scope of Phase 1(A) was narrowly limited, MGA will now be given an opportunity in Phase 1(B) to present to the same jury all of its defenses to Mattel's allegations. The issue in Phase 1(B) is to determine whether MGA's Bratz(TM) dolls infringe any copyrights Mattel may own of Carter Bryant's drawings.
"We at MGA remain confident that we will ultimately be successful at the conclusion of the 1(B) trial and/or before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. This is because it is undisputed that MGA - not Carter Bryant - independently created the Bratz dolls," said Isaac Larian, CEO of MGA Entertainment. "Carter Bryant did not have anything to do with the many Bratz-related products we created, such as Bratz Babyz, Lil' Bratz and Bratz Kidz to name a few," Larian added.
MGA points out that Mattel is only suing MGA regarding the "first generation" of Bratz(TM) dolls that were issued in 2001. "Under no circumstance will Mattel be able to assert ownership of the Bratz franchise - which will always belong to MGA," Larian said. "Our customers, retailers, vendors, and suppliers can take comfort in knowing that there will be no disruption in MGA's manufacturing and sales of Bratz dolls or any other products," Larian said.
MGA contends that Mattel is trying to hijack what the family-owned company created from scratch over the past seven years of hard work. They believe that Mattel waited from 2001, when the Bratz(TM) line of dolls was introduced into the marketplace, until July 2007 to come after them in court - years after it admitted in internal marketing documents that it was "out thought and out executed" by MGA. MGA further contends that Mattel has used litigation as a "business strategy" against MGA. MGA believes Mattel, having failed to compete in the marketplace, has resorted to litigation as a business strategy - with the intention to "litigate MGA to death," as one former Mattel executive testified.
Nolan further stated: "Please wait for part 1b of this Phase of the trial to be completed in a few weeks -- we are confident that the jury or court will vindicate MGA and Isaac Larian of all of Mattel's claims, when they hear the 'rest of the story.'"
MGA has received a great amount of support throughout the duration of this trial. "I am thankful to all of MGA's employees, vendors, and customers for their incredible daily support while we fight Mattel for what's rightfully ours," said Larian.
SOURCE: MGA Entertainment
Silver Public Relations David Silver, 213-488-6161 info@silverpr.com
Tags: business ceo entertainment executive manufacturing marketing products sales trial
Companies: Mattel, Inc. (MAT)
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