Ravensburger, publisher of the highly anticipated new Disney Lorcana trading card game, has issued a formal response to a lawsuit filed by competitor Upper Deck. In it, the games and toy maker describes Upper Deck’s lawsuit as the “legal equivalent of alchemy” and calls for it to be dismissed in its entirety. The announcement, made in a press release on Thursday, includes a 34-page legal response. But it also names one of the most powerful legal minds in the exclusive arena of TCG law, Brian Lewis, whose work as General Counsel at Wizards of the Coast helped pave the way for ‘s current dominance Magic the Gathering – but also the larger ecosystem of modern trading card games in general.
To keep you up to date on the issues at hand, be aware that Upper Deck’s lawsuit had quite a dramatic echo when it was made public on June 7th. In it, the California-based publisher of sports cards, games, and trading cards claims so Disney Lorcana Co-designer Ryan Miller had previously created a similar game that is “nearly identical”. Disney Lorcana while he’s signed to Upper Deck. They are also asking for an injunction to stop the game’s release, which is scheduled for August this year.
Ravensburger vehemently denies Upper Decks’ claims. In its reply, Ravensburger even questions the time and place of the lawsuit itself. All in all, Upper Deck’s efforts to design a competing TCG are portrayed as lazy and its litigation entirely opportunistic.
“Upper Deck alleges that it would have requested the return of confidential information and/or prevented its employees from communicating with Mr. Miller had it known of Mr. Miller’s employment at Ravensburger and the company’s work on a competing TCG,” reads the reject the application. “But Upper Deck was aware of Mr. Miller’s hiring at Ravensburger and his work on Lorcana when the game was announced in September 2022. And despite that knowledge, Upper Deck has done nothing.” Upper Deck cannot now lament that it has been damaged by its own inaction.”
By any estimation, this is a complex legal case involving issues of agency work and non-competition clauses (or lack thereof). But at its core, this is a dispute over game mechanics. Therefore, the inclusion of Lewis as legal counsel for Ravensburger is notable. That’s because Lewis was instrumental in securing the first protective patents in his role at Wizards of the Coast in the 1990s and early 2000s magic around the time of its introduction. The same patents and associated legal work have since formed the legal framework for trading card games worldwide. Without them, that’s also unlikely magic or any other successful TCG would exist in the same form as it does today.
“Ravensburger has an extremely compelling case here,” Lewis quoted in the press release, “and we hope that today’s filing will result in the suit being dismissed in its entirety.” While we respect the valid intellectual property rights of others, it seems more likely being a PR stunt than a real legal battle. I would also like to add that I have had the good fortune to know Ryan Miller personally for over 20 years and to believe him to be a person of the highest ethical standards.”
“We are pleased to be moving forward with the legal process and feel very confident in our position,” said Lisa Krueger, Senior Communications Director for Ravensburger North America. “In the meantime, our team remains focused on the upcoming launch. We’re excited to see everyone at Gen Con and can’t wait to see fans at our booth start buying this game.”
For more information on Lewis’ more than three decades of work in the TCG space, click here The Booster Pack Network’s in-depth, 95-minute interview from January.
