One of this year’s most anticipated new games is at the center of a legal scuffle.
This morning, Upper Deck filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California — County of San Diego against Ravensburger and a former Upper Deck game designer, Ryan Miller (THE UPPER DECK COMPANY VS MILLER, Case No. 37-2023-00023805), alleging that the parties conspired to “steal and copy Upper Deck’s original game which Ravensburger repackaged and marketed as Disney Lorcana.”
First revealed last year timed with Disney’s D23 Expo, Disney Lorcana is Ravensburger’s entry into the growing world of customizable trading card games (TCG) — a space in which Upper Deck already plays with its Legendary and Vs. System 2PCG titles.
According to the 19-page complaint, which The Toy Book has reviewed (see it here), Miller, who once worked on Magic: The Gathering and Digimon, was previously engaged on a work-for-hire basis with Upper Deck to develop “a major proprietary trading card game called Rush of Ikorr.” The complaint alleges that Miller terminated his contract with Upper Deck and took the unfinished Rush of Ikorr to Ravensburger where it was developed into Disney Lorcana.
“We invested significant time and resources to develop a new and novel trading card game. Our current leadership values the importance of protecting the intellectual property of both Upper Deck and its licensors,” says Upper Deck President Jason Masherah. “We want gamers and fans to continue enjoying and having access to unique, innovative, and immersive trading
card games. We encourage competition in the industry, but also strongly believe in playing by the rules to ensure the gaming community benefits from the different creative choices by each manufacturer.”
Upper Deck says that Rush of Ikorr is still in active development and that it is seeking damages from Ravensburger, including restitution, reimbursement of legal fees, and a court order to stop the public release of Disney Lorcana.
The Toy Book reached out to Ravensburger North America for comment on the allegations and received the following statement from a company spokesperson:
“Ravensburger has not been served with a complaint and thus cannot speculate on potential legal matters. We at Ravensburger stand behind the integrity of our team and the originality of our products.”
At press time, the docket is not yet listed on the Court website or in the PACER system. This article will be updated with additional information as we have it.
- Update: June 9, 2023 — Ravensburger has issued a follow-up response. Read the details here.
Disney Lorcana is set for an early release to local game stores and hobby shops beginning Aug. 18 prior to its mass retail launch on Sept. 1.
