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Legal Theory Bookworm: “You Don’t Own Me” by Lobel

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends You Don't Own Me: How Mattel v. MGA Entertainment Exposed Barbie's Dark Side by Orly Lobel.  Here is the abstract:

The battle between Mattel, the makers of the iconic Barbie doll, and MGA, the company that created the Bratz dolls, was not just a war over best-selling toys, but a war over who owns ideas.

When Carter Bryant began designing what would become the billion-dollar line of Bratz dolls, he was taking time off from his job at Mattel, where he designed outfits for Barbie. Later, back at Mattel, he sold his concept for Bratz to rival company MGA. Law professor Orly Lobel reveals the colorful story behind the ensuing decade-long court battle.

This entertaining and provocative work pits audacious MGA against behemoth Mattel, shows how an idea turns into a product, and explores the two different versions of womanhood, represented by traditional all-American Barbie and her defiant, anti-establishment rival―the only doll to come close to outselling her. In an era when workers may be asked to sign contracts granting their employers the rights to and income resulting from their ideas―whether conceived during work hours or on their own time―Lobel’s deeply researched story is a riveting and thought-provoking contribution to the contentious debate over creativity and intellectual property.

And from the reviews:

"The toy industry can be a cutthroat business, as Lobel (Talent Wants to Be Free)conclusively shows in this impressive account of the 10-year court battle waged between Mattel (maker of Barbie) and MGA Entertainment…a thoroughly researched book that explains the legalese of patent, property, and copyright law in layman's terms while providing an entertaining narrative." - Publisher's Weekly
  
"In her crisp narrative,the author pauses to ponder Mattel's notorious litigiousness and Barbie's iconic history, which is illuminating and contains some eyebrow-raising factoids…The epic trial between these two toy titans spanned a decade and became a dizzying, ego-driven melodrama. An aggressively researched toy story on the "doll-eat-doll world of litigation over inspiration." - Kirkus

"An outstanding business book." starred review — Booklist

 
 "This book is a courtroom drama, a corporate expose, and a case study of cutthroat creativity. Orly Lobel deftly explains why ownership of ideas should belong to people, not companies." –Adam Grant, New York Times best-selling author of Option B with Sheryl Sandberg
 
"A thrilling page turner. Orly Lobel has delivered the impossible: A fast-moving, fun book about marketing, litigation and the culture we create." –Seth Godin, best-selling Author of Linchpin
 
"Orly Lobel has written a fascinating, insightful, and accessible book with relevance for entrepreneurship and business in general, for copyright law and the legal profession as a whole, for individual success and the success of our economy. It is both pleasure reading and mandatory reading." — Tal Ben-Shahar, best-selling author of Happier and founder of the Whole Being Institute"Lobel's gripping You Don't Own Me has all the ingredients of a great story: an upstart hero, an underdog that takes on a powerful top dog, and a string of unpredictable twists and turns that reveal how corporations and the courts determine who owns creative ideas. This is an important and insightful book that's sure to inspire a heated debate." — Adam Alter, Professor at New York University's Stern School of Business and best-selling author of Irresistible
 
"Elle Woods (Legally Blonde) would eat this story up!" –Hello Giggles
 
"You Won't Want to Miss this Book"  –Yahoo!LifeStyle
 
"Gripping…the crafting of a good murder mystery…Profesor Lobel sets this all up brilliantly and meticulously…couldn't put it down…fascinating."
 
"Colorful and dramatic. …Orly Lobel masterfully draws us in with rich details, urging us to consider the future of innovation and the many ways in which companies employ litigation to achieve market domination." — Jonathan Zittrain, Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the Kennedy School of Government and author of The Future of the Internet 
 

"A thrill ride through backstabbing competition, business strategies, and the marketing of the American icon Barbie. Who knew intellectual property law could be such a page turner? An amazing story and a great read." — Jonah Berger, Wharton Professor and bestselling author of Contagious

 
"With sparkling prose, deep research and well-reasoned arguments, Lobel tells the fascinating story behind Mattel and MGA's bitter battle for the future of the toy industry. She cleverly illustrates deep and thorny issues surrounding intellectual property law and competitive strategy while also telling a great story. You will learn a tremendous amount reading this book, and also have a lot of fun. This is a must-read for anyone interested in innovation, business strategy or business law." — Phil Fernbach, best-selling author of The Knowledge Illusion
 
"Turning the fine points of patent, property,and copyright law into the stuff of a courtroom drama, Lobel chronicles the 10 year legal battle between two doll-manufacturing giants." 
-Publisher's Weekly Holiday Gift Guide
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