TI and his wife, singer-songwriter Tameka “Tiny” Harris, have been awarded $71m  by a jury in their lawsuit against a toy company they accused of violating their intellectual property rights.

On Monday (23 September), Tiny, 49, shared an Instagram Live in which she expressed her joy over an end to the years-long court battle against MGA Entertainment.

“We did this for the city. We did this for the culture,” Tiny said in a clip filmed outside a Santa Ana, California, federal courthouse.

She continued: “It was a fight. It was a hell of a fight. We couldn’t be more happy.”

In the complaint, which marked their third attempt to sue, the Grammy-winning duo alleged that seven of MGA Entertainment’s toys in their popular line, the LOL Surprise! OMG dolls, copied the appearance of their teen pop group, the OMG Girlz, during specific public events.

The initial trial took place in January last year but ended in a mistrial after jurors heard barred testimony that accused MGA of cultural appropriation.

The second, which took place in May 2023, resulted in an MGA Entertainment victory; a Supreme Court ruling in June that year allowed for a retrial.

TI and Tiny formed the OMG Girlz in 2009, with Tiny’s daughter Zonnique “Star” Pullins as a core member. While the trio initially disbanded, members Pullins, Bahja “Beauty” Rodriguez and Breaunna “Babydoll” Womack reunited last year and are currently on tour in support of new music.

All three bandmates testified during the three-week trial.

The unanimous ruling found that of the seven dolls presented from a total of 32, all of them copied the Atlanta-based band’s likeness.

During the trial, TI’s lawyer argued that the jury should penalize MGA an additional $35m to $72m.

Jurors bequeathed the couple $17.8m in real damages and $53.6m in punitive damages at the end of the trial. S: Independent

 

 

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