Here's something you might be interested in.
It seems to happen so infrequently, that I enjoy when I read about a court case that I agree with.
There was a recent one that awarded Mattel $100 million, because of copyright infringement type of things.
I don't have the story in front of me, but the guy that created "Bratz" dolls, apparently worked for Mattel and the Barbie Doll line, while he came up with this concept.
I'm not sure if he pitched the idea to them or not. But, he went off and created the Bratz. And, if you haven't seen them...there has been a bit of controversy about those dolls. Some parents were angered they looked "slutty". They had heavy eyeliner, and outfits that....uh, Barbie would've never been caught dead in.
And, I have to say, I can see the parents objections. When you are marketing a doll to girls in the 8 to 14-year-old range, they are going to want to dress like those dolls (possibly).
There's a difference between something like the "Garbage Pale Kids" I remember from my youth. Parents may not have cared for those, but you don't go wanting to dress like them!
Now, if anyone thinks that the lawsuit regarding the Bratz thing is ridiculous on Mattel's part, here's something to think about.
He worked for "another" company making dolls. When Bratz came on the market, sales in Barbie dolls dropped. I think the story I read said 20%.
And, aside from costing them money that way, how many hours did he spend on the job, working on this "new" product, that Mattel didn't get to benefit from?
Think about when jobs get strict about how much time you spend on the computer checking your emails, or going onto websites that aren't related to the job you're doing. It's company time you're wasting, when stuff like that should be reserved for when you're on a break. But why waste your break doing that, when you're already sitting at your desk, and the computer is right there.
I remember reading that when the PSA crash happened in 1979 over North Park, a staff photographer for the Union-Tribune (then just the Evening Tribune), was putting gas in his car. He saw the plane start to go down. He reached into his car, started snapping photos. I believe he won some prestigious awards, and made a lot of money, on those photos.
The Tribune then said, "Uh, well, congratulations on all that. But, yeah, well, you're a photographer for us. You used our camera. So, those photos are technically ours." And, a court sided with the paper.
Now, with Cabbage Patch Kids and Bratz dolls getting so popular....what doll can we come up with?
Someone email me, and we'll go halves.
It seems to happen so infrequently, that I enjoy when I read about a court case that I agree with.
There was a recent one that awarded Mattel $100 million, because of copyright infringement type of things.
I don't have the story in front of me, but the guy that created "Bratz" dolls, apparently worked for Mattel and the Barbie Doll line, while he came up with this concept.
I'm not sure if he pitched the idea to them or not. But, he went off and created the Bratz. And, if you haven't seen them...there has been a bit of controversy about those dolls. Some parents were angered they looked "slutty". They had heavy eyeliner, and outfits that....uh, Barbie would've never been caught dead in.
And, I have to say, I can see the parents objections. When you are marketing a doll to girls in the 8 to 14-year-old range, they are going to want to dress like those dolls (possibly).
There's a difference between something like the "Garbage Pale Kids" I remember from my youth. Parents may not have cared for those, but you don't go wanting to dress like them!
Now, if anyone thinks that the lawsuit regarding the Bratz thing is ridiculous on Mattel's part, here's something to think about.
He worked for "another" company making dolls. When Bratz came on the market, sales in Barbie dolls dropped. I think the story I read said 20%.
And, aside from costing them money that way, how many hours did he spend on the job, working on this "new" product, that Mattel didn't get to benefit from?
Think about when jobs get strict about how much time you spend on the computer checking your emails, or going onto websites that aren't related to the job you're doing. It's company time you're wasting, when stuff like that should be reserved for when you're on a break. But why waste your break doing that, when you're already sitting at your desk, and the computer is right there.
I remember reading that when the PSA crash happened in 1979 over North Park, a staff photographer for the Union-Tribune (then just the Evening Tribune), was putting gas in his car. He saw the plane start to go down. He reached into his car, started snapping photos. I believe he won some prestigious awards, and made a lot of money, on those photos.
The Tribune then said, "Uh, well, congratulations on all that. But, yeah, well, you're a photographer for us. You used our camera. So, those photos are technically ours." And, a court sided with the paper.
Now, with Cabbage Patch Kids and Bratz dolls getting so popular....what doll can we come up with?
Someone email me, and we'll go halves.