From our private database of 46,200+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.
Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
296 F.3d 894 (2002)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
MCA Records (MCA) (defendant) produced a song by the band Aqua called “Barbie Girl.” The song invoked images of and poked fun at Mattel, Inc.’s (Mattel) (plaintiff) famous doll, Barbie. Mattel had a valid trademark for Barbie. Mattel brought suit, seeking to enjoin MCA’s use of the Barbie mark. At trial, MCA did not dispute that its use of the Barbie mark was dilutive. However, the district court held that the song was a parody of the doll, and that the song was not likely to confuse consumers as to the source of the song. Mattel appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Kozinski, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 789,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
