News & Articles

Toy maker Mattel has declared its intent to appeal against a ruling over the ownership of the Bratz doll line.

Mattell claims Bratz designer Carter Bryant was working for them when he created the dolls, an accusation maker MGA Entertainment denies.

Last week, MGA was awarded just over £100 million for damages related to trade secret misappropriation, as well as nearly £85 million for copyright infringement, breach of contract and other issues.

A statement from Mattel said the firm remained committed to finding a resolution that would result in a fair conclusion to the litigation.

MGA's legal advisers have told news agencies that they are confident their client will prevail.

MGA claimed in court last week that Mattel had tried to crush Bratz because they were giving Barbie a run for her money, while Mattel accused MGA of stealing the idea for the dolls and then covering up the theft.

Copyright Press Association 2011

Childcare issues are the biggest barrier to women breaking through the corporate glass ceiling and being given senior roles in companies, a report suggests.

Friends Life carried out an online survey of 11,000 UK employees in July, including 940 working women.

It found that 51% of working mothers who have taken maternity leave said the high costs of childcare meant it was not financially worthwhile for them to go back to work.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of working women with children under the age of five said more than 25% of their salary goes on childcare.

A huge majority - 88% - said women should be able to work flexibly and cut their hours for family reasons without it having an adverse effect on their career prospects.

More than half (55%) said they did not think the pay gap between men and women would be bridged by the end of this decade, and a similar number (53%) said women would continue to struggle to beat men to the top jobs.

Copyright Press Association 2011

A benefits cheat who duped Army veterans into believing he was a decorated former soldier has been found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

John Livesey, who was a respected military historian, told friends and colleagues he had served in the Parachute Regiment and been awarded a medal for gallantry.

The illustrious Army career was fantasy, Peterborough Crown Court heard. In reality, the 57-year-old had been in the Catering Corps between 1971 and 1974.

Livesey, who worked at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, took in genuine veterans by claiming he had seen action in the Falklands War and carried out six tours of Northern Ireland.

It was discovered that, prior to his conviction for a £30,000 benefit fraud in 2004, references submitted by senior military veterans on behalf of Livesey had been based on his false claims.

Copyright Press Association 2011

An investigation by The Sun newspaper has led to the suspension of two members of staff at an Essex magistrates' court following bribery allegations.

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that two employees working at Redbridge Magistrates' Court have been suspended from their duties while investigations into the allegations continue.

The allegations came to light after the newspaper filmed a man making a deal to prevent details of a traffic summons being entered on to the court database. A sum of £500 was allegedly agreed on for the deception to take place. The film on The Sun website shows a man presenting his Court Service identity card to an investigator. Only the hands and laps of the men are visible.

Two men aged 21 and 30 are being help by police on suspicion of misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice.

In the video, the member of staff says: "I don't touch no charges, just the traffic summons."

The Sun investigator replies: "It goes into the computer innit, you've got to input that data, so the buck stops with you really innit, so you're in charge of it. So you just don't bother putting it into the system and you get no comebacks."

Copyright Press Association 2011

Some 73 high-profile criminals were arrested last year, a crime fighting agency has said.

The Scottish Crime And Drug Enforcement Agency (SDCEA) said it was catching more criminals than ever and reducing the levels of drugs on the streets as a result.

The SDCEA arrested 195 people last year, including 73 serious offenders. This is compared with 136 in 2009/2010.

The arrests included Sohaib Qureshi, a major drug trafficker in Scotland. He was handed a 12-year jail term in March after being found guilty of trafficking cocaine to the Caribbean and South America.

Deputy chief constable Gordon Meldrum, SDCEA director general, said he believed criminals were aware of the agency and worried about being caught by police.

He said: "I do believe (the agency) makes a difference. I do believe if you are involved in organised crime, you do worry about the agency, you do worry about policing and you do worry about law enforcement."

Copyright Press Association 2011

Figures from national charity Crimestoppers suggest that fraud cost the UK an estimated £38 billion in 2010, with taxpayers taking the force of blow.

This year as part of a clampdown bid, photographs of 10 suspected fraudsters allegedly involved in a collective £200 million of illegal activity have been revealed to the public.

It is hoped the tactic will succeed in bringing the suspects to justice, Crimestoppers said.

Its founder Lord Ashcroft explained how fraud is not a "victimless crime," with each regular UK resident forking out extra for bank charges, hiked insurance fees and higher taxes as a result.

Among the photographed subjects is a man believed to be running a holiday scam, a live-in carer suspected of stealing from the elderly and a man using a young cancer patient's illness to dishonestly raise money.

Copyright Press Association 2011