Mattel Inc. V. Walking Mountain Prods.
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''Mattel Inc. v. Walking Mountain Productions'', 353 F.3d 792 (9th Cir. 2003), was a case between Mattel and
Tom Forsythe Tom Forsythe is an American artist and Tai Chi instructor who lives and works in Utah. He is known for his photographic work of Barbie dolls, which caused some controversy resulting from a lawsuit brought against him by Mattel. The company lost ...
in which Mattel sued Forsythe for the production and sale of
photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now create ...
s portraying " Barbie" dolls. Mattel alleged that Forsythe's use of Barbie's name and likeness in his "Food Chain Barbie" photo series infringed on their copyrights, trademarks, and
trade dress Trade dress is the characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging (or even the design of a building) that signify the source of the product to consumers. Trade dress is an aspect of trademark law, which is a form of intelle ...
. The court held that Mattel's trademark and trade dress claims were "groundless or unreasonable" and therefore ordered Mattel to pay 1.8 million dollars in legal fees to Forsythe under the Lanham Act.


Background


Response


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Tom Forsythe Tom Forsythe is an American artist and Tai Chi instructor who lives and works in Utah. He is known for his photographic work of Barbie dolls, which caused some controversy resulting from a lawsuit brought against him by Mattel. The company lost ...
, the Utah photographer sued by Mattel in this case * ''
Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc. ''Mattel v. MCA Records'', 296 F.3d 894 (9th Cir. 2002), was a series of lawsuits between Mattel and MCA Records that resulted from the 1997 hit single " Barbie Girl" by Danish group Aqua. The case was ultimately dismissed. Background On Septe ...
'', a lawsuit between Mattel and MCA Records involving the song " Barbie Girl" by Aqua


References

{{Barbie, state=collapsed 21st century in United States case law Mattel Barbie Toy controversies Mattel litigation