Editing Cabbage Patch Kids (section)

=== Lawsuits ===
Though Xavier Roberts originated the look of Little People, many of Little People's defining characteristics—such as the dolls' overly round faces and that they came with an [[adoption]] certificate—were taken from [[Martha Nelson Thomas]], an American folk artist from [[Kentucky]]. Before Roberts became involved in the toy industry, Thomas had created and marketed her own line of dolls, called Doll Babies, which she sold at local arts and craft shows and markets. Roberts began purchasing Thomas' dolls in 1976 to sell at a profit at his own store in Georgia.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2015-05-10 |title=The Secret History of Cabbage Patch Kids |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-secret-history-of-cabbage-patch-kids-011/ |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref><ref>Piro, Lauren."The Not-So-Sweet Truth About Cabbage Patch Kids: Behind those iconic chubby cheeks is a disappointing story" Apr 21, 2015. Good Housekeeping. http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a32201/cabbage-patch-dolls-history/</ref><ref>"Baby Snatcher: He Stole Her 'Doll Baby' Concept To Make Iconic Cabbage Patch Kids" Apr 20, 2015. Women You Should Know. http://womenyoushouldknow.net/baby-snatcher-he-stole-her-doll-baby-concept-to-make-iconic-cabbage-patch-kids/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212031608/http://womenyoushouldknow.net/baby-snatcher-he-stole-her-doll-baby-concept-to-make-iconic-cabbage-patch-kids/ |date=2017-12-12 }}</ref> Thomas later stopped selling additional dolls to Roberts, prompting him to turn to a manufacturing company in [[Hong Kong]] to mass produce dolls similar in appearance to Thomas' at a cheaper cost.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Piro |first=Lauren |date=2015-04-21 |title=The Not-So-Sweet Truth About Cabbage Patch Kids |language=en-US |work=[[Good Housekeeping]] |url=https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a32201/cabbage-patch-dolls-history/ |access-date=2018-04-11}}</ref> Thomas brought suit against Roberts and eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed amount in 1985. She and her husband, Tucker Thomas, told the press that she was more upset by the corruption of her dolls, for which she cared deeply, than the money she'd lost as the result of Roberts' actions.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news |title=CABBAGE PATCH KIDS SPUR A BATTLE OVER PARENTAGE |work=The New York Times |date=December 6, 1983 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/06/us/cabbage-patch-kids-spur-a-battle-over-parentage.html |access-date=2023-11-22 |last1=Joyce |first1=Fay S. }}</ref><ref>Original Appalachian Artworks v. Toy Loft, 489 F. Supp. 174 (N.D. Ga. 1980)
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia - 489 F. Supp. 174 (N.D. Ga. 1980)
May 2, 1980 https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/489/174/2394655/</ref> Thomas died in 2013, at the age of 62, with her favorite dolls attending her funeral alongside her family members and friends.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/louisville/obituary.aspx?n=martha-nelson-thomas&pid=165037699&fhid=4753|title=Martha Nelson Thomas's Obituary on Courier-Journal|website=Courier-Journal|access-date=2018-04-11}}</ref>

Roberts' company, Original Appalachian Artworks, later brought a $30 million lawsuit against [[Topps]], the company that produced grotesque trading cards parodying his company's dolls called the [[Garbage Pail Kids]], for copyright infringement.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Copyrights: Trouble in the Garbage Pail|magazine= Time|date=1986-03-17|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,960905,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221234634/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,960905,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 21, 2008|access-date=2010-03-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=AROUND THE NATION; Judge Rules in Case Of Garbage Pail Kids|work=The New York Times|date=1986-08-30|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/30/us/around-the-nation-judge-rules-in-case-of-garbage-pail-kids.html?scp=1&sq=Cabbage%20Pail%20Kids&st=cse|access-date= 2010-08-07}}</ref> Having sold over $70 million worth of the cards, Topps settled with OAA for $7 million—tantamount to a license—and retained the right to continue producing the Garbage Pail Kids cards.

In a bitter legal battle with SN&C over whether OAA had violated their licensing Agreement with SN&C and Coleco's exclusivity by producing a Cabbage Patch bear as a line of "Furskins Bears", and failing to pay SN&C its share of the Topps settlement and refusing to allow [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] TV from doing a Saturday morning animated TV show, Roberts worked out a side deal with Coleco for tens of millions of dollars for a renewal of Schlaifer's Cabbage Patch agreement, and jointly litigated against SN&C. The suit was settled in 1988 by OAA and Coleco paying SN&C an undisclosed amount of money. In addition, Paula Osborne, OAA president until Roberts worked out the deal with Coleco, sued over the share she was entitled to as a stockholder of OAA and received a seven-figure settlement.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}} Six months after settling with SN&C, Coleco was out of business.