Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Mattel loses appeal over 'Barbie Girl' hit

Anne Gearan
Tuesday 28 January 2003 01:00 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The US Supreme Court dismissed an appeal yesterday by the toymaker Mattel over a pop song that parodied the iconic fashion doll Barbie.

Mattel claimed the pre-teen girls who bought Barbie dolls were duped into thinking the 1997 dance hit "Barbie Girl", which referred to the doll as a "blonde bimbo", was an advertisement for the doll or part of Mattel's official line of products.

But the court turned down Mattel's request to reopen the legal battle over the song. The judges refused to comment on their decision to uphold an earlier ruling that the song was a social commentary and protected by the first amendment.

MCA Records sold about 1.4 million copies of the song by Aqua, a Danish group.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in