Judge Rules Against Upper Deck in Ravensburger Suit

Ravensburger has won a round in Upper Deck’s suit alleging copyright infringement and other torts, but Upper Deck has vowed to appeal, pursue the count that was not dismissed, and continue with a recent lawsuit in Europe over the same issues.

The lawsuit, filed in summer 2023 (see “Upper Deck Sues“), alleged that Disney Lorcana TCG designer Ryan Miller took the designs for Rush of Ikorr, which he worked on at Upper Deck, to Ravensburger and incorporated them into Disney Lorcana.

Earlier this month, the judge in the case granted summary judgment on all of the remaining counts against Ravensburger, including copyright infringement, fraud, conversion, and unfair competition, and dismissed Ravensburger as a defendant.

The judge did not dismiss the breach of contract claim against Miller, so that claim is progressing to trial.

Ravensburger claimed victory, with Ravensburger legal advisor Brian Lewis noting some of the specifics of the ruling.  “Judge Evanson found the evidence of this so clear that she determined no reasonable jury could conclude that Ravensburger had infringed any copyrights,” he said in a statement provided to ICv2.  “She found an overwhelming lack of similarity between the games, and with respect to the few areas of similarity, these consisted of widely used trading card game mechanics that had been used for decades.  She reiterated the well-known law that game mechanics are not protectable expression under copyright law.  This lawsuit was without merit, and we feel gratified that the judge agreed with our reasoning.”

Ravensburger Director of Communications Greg Tito argued that the ruling was a victory for game designers.  “This judgment is important for more than just this case, since Ravensburger’s steadfastness in rigorously defending against this lawsuit has protected game designers across the industry from this type of litigation in the future,” he said in a statement.  “We stand by our game designers as we stand by all our employees to operate with integrity and honesty in the work of designing, manufacturing, and marketing games for millions of fans to enjoy for years to come.”

But Upper Deck is not done, according to a statement from President Jason Masherah, who is vowing to continue to battle in the courts.  “We disagree with the recent decision and remain confident in the facts,” he said. “We plan to appeal and proceed with the remaining claims in the U.S. as well as continue with a recently filed lawsuit in Europe where the law offers stronger protections for intellectual property.  We are committed to protecting our original trading card game, Rush of Ikorr, to ensure the gaming community continues to have access to unique and innovative games and benefits from different creative choices by each manufacturer.”

Upper Deck launched Rush of Ikorr in June (see “Upper Deck Will Release TCG in Lawsuit“), with a second set due in November (see “New ‘Rush of Ikorr’ Booster Set“).  Ravensburger launched Disney Lorcana TCG in late 2023, with Whispers in the Well, the next set, also due out in November (see “’Whispers in the Well’“).