It looks like two of the most notorious board game companies are on their way to court, as upper deck announced that they are suing Ravensburger and a former Upper Deck game designer regarding the core mechanics of Disney’s Lorcana. Upper Deck claims former designer Ryan Miller copied the original Upper Deck game, then claims Ravensburger repackaged that game and marketed it as Disney Lorcana. The official complaint states that Miller worked with Upper Deck on a game called Rush of Ikorr, and after a year and a half left the project to work with Ravensburger. Upper Deck claims that the product for his work on Rush of Ikorr has been transferred to Lorcana, and you can find more details on the complaint below.
In a statement, Upper Deck President Jason Machera said, “We have invested significant time and resources to develop a new and innovative trading card game. Our current leadership appreciates the importance of protecting the intellectual property of both Upper Deck and its licensors.”
“We want our players and fans to continue to enjoy and access unique, innovative and immersive trading card games,” Moshira said. “We encourage competition in the industry, but we also strongly believe in playing by the rules to ensure that the gaming community benefits from the different creative choices by each manufacturer.” You can find the complainant and more details about the lawsuit below.
Introduction: 1. Upper Deck seeks to protect its intellectual property from willful theft by Miller. On a work-for-hire basis, Upper Deck hired Miller as a lead game designer to develop a major Royal Deck trading card game for Upper Deck called “Rush of Ikorr”. After more than a year of developing Rush of Ikorr alongside Upper Deck, Miller has terminated his contract with Upper Deck.
and prior to or immediately after termination, he began working for defendant Ravensburger, a direct competitor.
In Ravensburger, Miller transferred his work product on Rush of Ikorr, knowing that this work product is owned only by the Upper Deck, into a trading card game called “Disney Lorcana” (“Lorcana”). This trading card has great, uncanny similarities to the Upper Deck’s Rush of Ikorr.
2. Miller’s actions in stealing a game design Upper Deck prompted him to create and use those designs to develop a competitor’s trading card game with the help and encouragement of Ravensburger, who now seeks to profit from the stolen intellectual property. These actions give rise to a combination of causes of action under California and federal law.
Later in the complaint, Upper Deck revealed a timeline of events it believed supported its position, stating that despite Miller’s departure, they continued to work on Rush of Ikorr, a game that had not yet been publicly announced, and that when the rules for Lorcana were revealed, they noted The games were almost identical. He also goes on to reveal Equor’s ground rules in the complaint.
We’ll bring you more details as soon as they become available.
[ad_2]
