• Los Angeles Times , Wednesday, June 18, 2008 9:46 AM

A bitter copyright infringement trial in U.S. District Court in Riverside, Calif., pits Mattel against MGA Entertainment of Van Nuys, a formerly small player that launched Bratz in 2001. Mattel says that the saucy Bratz -- known for hip-hugging outfits and bare midriffs -- was created secretly by one of its own designers who at the time was working on its signature Barbie line.

Carter Bryant got a job designing fashions, hair and makeup on the Barbie line at Mattel in 1995 and stayed until April 1998, when he left to live with his parents. Bryant and MGA contend that the doll came out of the designer's imagination during this time. Bryant returned to Mattel in January 1999, defecting to MGA in October 2000. Mattel is pushing the theory that Bryant created Bratz during his second stint at the company.

The cast in the sterile courtroom includes high-priced lawyers, a no-nonsense judge and a Greek chorus of courtroom observers, some of whom won't say why they're there. The reason for all this? Money --and lots of it. Analysts estimate MGA makes as much as $2 billion a year from Bratz products and licenses.

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