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T.I. and Tiny Harris have prevailed in their copyright infringement lawsuit against toy company MGA over its O.M.G. doll line. They won $71 million after a jury decided the toys did, in fact, infringe on the concept of the pop group OMG Girlz, which was created by Tiny and featured her daughter Zonnique “Star” Pullins.
According to Law360 (via Billboard), the couple was awarded $17.9 million in actual damages and $53.6 million in punitive damages after one day of deliberation following the three-week trial.
The couple first sued the company in 2021, alleging “cultural appropriation and outright theft of the intellectual property” in the design of the O.M.G. dolls, which recreated the look of a group of “young multicultural women.” While MGA argued that few would remember the “short-lived” pop group, the Harris’ case presented side-by-side images of their OMG Girlz, comparing dolls to each of the group’s four members: Pullins, Bahja “Beauty” Rodriguez, and Breaunna “Babydoll” Womack.
This latest trial was the third in the saga; the first, in January 2023, ended in mistrial after inadmissible evidence was presented in court, while the second was overturned on appeal after finding MGA not liable for copyright infringement. MGA can still appeal this latest decision.
The win was the second legal victory for the couple in as many months, after a judge dismissed the sexual assault case against them in August — the second such case to be dismissed.
