Hip-hop mogul TI and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris received a hefty $71 million settlement from a jury on Monday after winning their third court case alleging that toy giant MGA Entertainment infringed the intellectual property rights of their teen pop group OMG Girlz with its wildly popular “LOL Surprise! OMG” doll line.

After a three-week trial in federal court in Santa Ana, California, the jury awarded the couple and their companies $17.9 million in compensatory damages and a whopping $53.6 million in punitive damages.

“I mean, wow. They did more than I thought,” says Tiny Rolling Stone after reacting to the stunning award. “I would have been happy with anything. You have blessed us more than anything. We wanted to thank the judges so much, but we didn’t get a chance.”

In a complex verdict read Monday afternoon, jurors said 13 of the more than 30 dolls violated the trade dress and misappropriated the name, image and likeness of the all-female band that TI and Tiny formed in 2009 with Tiny’s daughter Zonnique “Star” Pullins as a core member. A 14th doll violated the group’s trade dress, while a 15th misappropriated the OMG Girlz name, image and likeness, the jury found.

“I think justice has been done. I think it is a testament to the relentlessness and resilience of my wife, my daughter and my nieces,” says TI Rolling Stone by phone, minutes after the verdict was read. “We’re just happy that we came out on top and were able to fight for the creatives and our intellectual property, which big corporations seem to think is just public property and anyone can take it and use it.” He called the verdict a victory for “the people who have put in really hard work and effort to build and create things from nothing.”

During the trial, MGA’s lawyer called the couple’s lawsuit a “money-grabbing scheme.” TI said he was glad the jury did not agree. “I think it was an intimidation tactic, they wanted to make me out to be the bad guy when in reality they were the (bad guys),” he says. “They were the ones who came and betrayed us, and (they) expected us not to have the audacity to stand up and speak for ourselves. … That kind of condescension comes from not really being in touch with the reality of the culture after you’ve had your way for so long and no one has really stood up and spoken against you.”

Outside the courthouse, Tiny thanked her legal team, including John Keville, Chante Westmoreland, Robert Green and B’Ivory LaMarr. “Ultimately, the evidence showed that (MGA) stole from us. They stole from our creation,” she says Rolling Stone“I’m glad we stuck with it. No one could tell me they didn’t steal from us.”

At trial, TI and Tiny claimed that MGA marketed seven specific dolls whose appearance mimicked the appearance of the OMG Girlz at “very specific public events” or in published photos. MGA denied the allegations. Billionaire founder Isaac Larian testified that TI, Tiny and the three members of the OMG Girlz – Zonnique “Star” Pullins, Bahja “Beauty” Rodriguez and Breaunna “Babydoll” Womack – played no role in the design of his dolls. He called them “extortionists.”

Pullins, Rodriguez and Womack were present at the trial and testified. After the verdict was announced, they hugged in the hallway outside the courtroom. “I am so grateful and overwhelmed with joy,” says Womack. Pullins adds, “When the judge asked if we had a memorable trade dress and everyone raised their hands, I was so moved. We all cried silently.”

In closing arguments Friday, the parties argued over the extent of the OMG Girlz’s fame, what constitutes market confusion and the difference between inspiration and misappropriation. Keville showed jurors more than a dozen social media posts from people who said they believed the MGA dolls were based on the OMG Girlz.

“This case is really about one side believing they can do whatever they want and boss people around,” Keville argued. He also pointed out that four consumers testified under oath, either live or on video, that they believed the OMG Girlz were behind the MGA dolls.

MGA’s attorney Paul J. Loh called the allegations of copyright infringement “baseless and offensive.” His clients have sold more than 40 million “LOL Surprise! OMG” dolls and have “never received a complaint” from a customer who was “confused” about a possible connection with the OMG Girlz. “What is happening here is not right,” Loh said in his closing argument on the copyright infringement. “We are here to bring the truth to light.”

The jury returned its verdict on Monday after two previous juries heard largely the same evidence in previous trials with the same judge, U.S. District Judge James V. Selna. The first trial in January 2023 ended in a miscarriage of justice when jurors heard inadmissible testimony accusing the toymaker of “cultural appropriation.”

The case was heard for a second time in spring 2023, and the jury awarded the victory to MGA. TI and Tiny were granted a retrial in September 2023 after the Supreme Court ruled in June 2023 that the First Amendment does not necessarily protect a dog toy maker that created a fun chew toy that looks like a bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey. Justice Elena Kagan’s opinion sent the message that consumer confusion should carry more weight in infringement cases involving expressive works than previously thought.

When he testified earlier this month, T.I. said he believed the seven dolls represented an “indisputably blatant” violation when compared to looks the OMG Girlz wore at certain events, such as their All Around the World tour and a New Year’s Eve performance in Atlanta. “You can hold them up to those pictures and see. Anyone with eyes can see that that picture influenced that doll,” he testified. T.I. said his camp narrowed the number of allegedly infringing dolls from over 30 to the specific seven in order to focus on the “most indisputable” alleged theft and save time.