T.I. & Tiny Million Dollar Victory Gets Cut Drastically
Source: Prince Williams / Getty
A jury initially ordered toymaker MGA Entertainment to pay T.I. And Tiny Harris over 70 million dollars after the case following the OMG Girlz intellectual property. The couple is now facing potential setback in their legal victory which will significantly reduce their multimillion dollar settlement.
Last year, the jury awarded the Harris’ $71 million dollars after a years-long legal battle over the alleged misappropriation of their likeness in a popular doll line. However, multiple reports now indicate that a federal judge is considering cutting the settlement to $17.8 million. The judge reportedly cited insufficient evidence to prove MGA acted in bad faith.
After the initial ruling, Tiny expressed to the press stating: “We wanted to thank the jurors for just seeing us through this and believing in what we said. They heard our story and knew we weren’t lying. It’s amazing.”
Under the Lanham Act, proof of intentional infringement is important for such cases to be awarded in punitive damage. The Lanham Act states “a plaintiff that establishes trademark infringement is entitled to recover the defendant’s profits,” but there are “judicial discretion.”
The court has not yet made a final decision on the damages. Regardless, T.I. And Tiny can expect to get at least $17.8 million from the lawsuit. Before the final case proceeding through, the couple attempted twice to sue which resulted in mistrials.
