Plaintiff Elinor Shapiro (“Shapiro”) alleges that Defendant Hasbro, Inc. (“Hasbro”) misappropriated her trade secrets regarding new versions of the popular doll “My Little Pony.” Shapiro works as a doll creator and made a submission to Hasbro for a new line of pony dolls that are clear, filled with glitter, and light up. The submission included a presentation, marketing plan, and prototypes. Roughly 17 months later, Hasbro released a new line of “My Little Pony” dolls that are clear, light up and filled with different colored glitters. Shapiro argues that this was a misappropriation of information she presented, and has filed two lawsuits against Hasbro.
Shapiro’s first lawsuit, Shapiro v. Hasbro Inc. et al.,, No. 2:15-cv-02964, which is set to go to trial in September 2016, alleges multiple claims including copyright infringement, breach of contract, and multiple California trade secret law violations. Shapiro filed the second lawsuit, Shapiro v. Hasbro Inc. et al., No. 2:16-cv-05750, on August 2, 2016. The second suit drops the copyright infringement claims and focuses more on trade secrets, including a claim under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), which took effect in May 2016.
The complaint for Shapiro’s latest lawsuit can be found here: http://tsi.brooklaw.edu/cases/shapiro-v-hasbro-inc-et-al/filings/shapiro-v-hasbro-inc-et-al