At first blush, the recent lawsuit filed by a toy inventor against toy and game company, Hasbro, would seem to have little to do with the advertising industry. In fact, however, the.
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The California Court of Appeal recently upheld the dismissal of
claims against Mattel, which alleged that Mattel stole the idea for
its flying Barbie doll from Technology from Heaven Unlimited
(“TFHU”). Applying New York law, the Court found that
Mattel did not misappropriate TFHU s idea to create a flying
Barbie using drone technology, as this idea did not have general
novelty, even if the idea was novel to the buyer. Moving forward,
companies should ensure that they have clear policies and
procedures in place before accepting ideas and before entering into
[co-author: Meghan McBerry]
The California Court of Appeal recently upheld the dismissal of claims against Mattel, which alleged that Mattel stole the idea for its flying Barbie doll from Technology from Heaven Unlimited (“TFHU”). Applying New York law, the Court found that Mattel did not misappropriate TFHU’s idea to create a flying Barbie using drone technology, as this idea did not have general novelty, even if the idea was novel to the buyer. Moving forward, companies should ensure that they have clear policies and procedures in place before accepting ideas and before entering into contracts for the disclosure of ideas, because whether an idea may be novel may depend on the timing of the contract.