Bratz is a popular line of fashion dolls and related merchandise designed by Carter Bryant and manufactured by southern California toy company MGA Entertainment. The four original 10" dolls - Cloe, Jade, Sasha, and Yasmin - are teenagers distinguished by large heads and skinny bodies, almond-shaped eyes adorned with eyeshadow, and lush, glossy lips. Though Bratz dolls fared poorly at their June 2001 debut, their popularity increased the following Christmas.

In their first five years, 125 million were sold worldwide, and, in 2005, global sales of Bratz and Bratz products reached two billion dollars. In 2006, a toy-industry analyst indicated Bratz had captured about forty per cent of the fashion-doll market, compared with Barbie's sixty per cent. Bratz have provoked controversy in several areas.

Criticism has been leveled at the labor conditions under which the dolls are manufactured in China, and the American Psychological Association has expressed concern about the sexualization of the dolls' clothing and its effect on children. Some of the Bratz characters dress in a provocative manner and the designers at MGA have agreed that the appearance of these dolls were far from how teenagers should dress today. MGA conceded further that many of their styles were sexually provocative and were setting a bad example for the children and the pre-teens to whom these toys are marketed.

The original dolls generated a number of spin-offs such as Lil' Bratz, Bratz Boyz, Bratz kidz, and Bratz Petz as well as films, music albums, and interactive DVDs. In 2008, rival manufacturer Mattel filed suit against MGA for infringement, claiming that MGA had improperly appropriated Mattel intellectual property in creating the Bratz. The jury found in favor of Mattel and awarded them $100 million; $10 million for MGA's copyright infringement and $90 million for their breach of contract.

After the verdict, Mattel filed for a permanent injunction against MGA, to stop them from making and selling Bratz and to dispose of all Bratz-related marketing materials. The superior court judge granted the injunction, but enforcement of the injunction has been stayed until at least the end of 2009, while MGA appeals the decision.

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