Lady Gaga, Label Sued By Bratz Doll Makers For $10 Million

Toy maker claims that Gaga and her management have delayed approval of a Mother Monster doll.
By Gil Kaufman

<P>The company behind the saucer-eyed Bratz dolls is suing <a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/lady_gaga/artist.jhtml">Lady Gaga</a> and her management company for $10 million over claims that they've delayed the approval of a line of Gaga dolls.</P><P>According to <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-24/lady-gaga-sued-by-maker-of-bratz-dolls-over-contract-breach-1-.html" target="_blank"><I>Bloomberg News</I></a>, Bratz maker MGA Entertainment Inc. is alleging breach of contract in the New York State court filing, which names the two defendants as Atom Factory (Gaga's management company) and Bravado International Group, a Universal Music Group-owned merchandising firm.</P><P>The complaint claims that MGA agreed in December 2011 to make dolls in Gaga's image at Bravado's "request and insistence," paying the company a $1 million advance fee amid planning to ship the dolls to retailers this summer to get a jump on the busy holiday selling season.</P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Lady Gaga Has The Title And Concept For Her Next Album" id="vid:717202" width="415" height="255"></div><p></P><P>Then in April, Bravado reportedly told MGA that Gaga wanted to delay production and shipping of the dolls until her <a href="/news/articles/1686922/lady-gaga-new-album-title.jhtml">upcoming album</a>&#8232; is released next year. MGA claims that Gaga and her team have continued to withhold final approval on the designs in order to delay their production until next year, focusing instead on selling the new Gaga perfume <a href="/news/articles/1689786/lady-gaga-nude-perfume-ad.jhtml">"Fame."</a></P><P>"Defendants' conduct is egregious, in bad faith and is pretextual, especially in light of the fact that MGA has, among other things, paid Bravado a $1 million advance, agreed to an excessively generous royalty rate, invested millions in the preproduction of the Lady Gaga dolls and put its reputation and goodwill on the line in order to secure distributors and retail shelf space," MGA Entertainment said in the complaint.</P><P>A spokeswoman for Gaga said the singer has no comment to <I>Bloomberg</I> on the suit, saying that the dispute is between Bravado and MGA and that, "there was no legitimate reason for dragging Lady Gaga into that dispute. Lady Gaga will vigorously defend MGA's ill-conceived lawsuit and is confident that she will prevail."</P><P>Bravado's parent company called the suit "meritless."</P><P>MGA estimated $28 million in revenue for the fall 2012 retail season from the Lady Gaga dolls, according to the complaint.</P><P><a href="http://www.mtv.com/photos/?fid=1617615"><img src="http://www.mtv.com/news/photos/s/spotted/banner/spotted.jpg"></a></p>

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1690405/lady-gaga-label-bratz-doll-sued.jhtml

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