Major League Baseball sues Upper Deck over Trademark Infringement

Major League Baseball Properties Inc. is suing former business partner Upper Deck Co. In the case U.S. District Court, No. 10-732, Major League Baseball Properties Inc v Upper Deck Co that was filed in the Southern District of New York, the league is claiming that the trading card manufacturer continued making cards imprinted with the league’s official logos even after its licensing deal has expired. Major League Baseball Properties oversees the trademarks for thirty teams. The lawsuit comes just six months after Upper Deck’s rival, Topps Co., was awarded by Major League Baseball Properties a multi-year exclusive agreement. Last year, Topps settled a lawsuit with Upper Deck over its allegations that the latter stole some of the former’s baseball card designs. Based in New York, Topps has been selling baseball cards since 1952. It is currently owned by private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners and Michael Eisner’s Tornante Co., who bought the card maker in 2007. Complaint details MLB’s complaint states that Upper Deck has been illegally distributing the “Signature Stars” and “Ultimate Collection” lines of trading cards, with the intent to distribute other lines that are also unauthorized. The complaint also alleges that the unauthorized 2010 cards from Upper Deck featuring Derek Jeter from the New York Yankees have similarities in packaging used with the 2009 cards, which were authorized. The league’s complaint further stated that the card company is in default of the $2.4 million it owes the MLB for the renewal of is licensing deal, which has already expired last year. The baseball league concludes that these actions from the card maker are “reflective of a pattern of utter disrespect for the contractual and intellectual property rights of those from whom it licenses valuable trademarks.” Through the lawsuit, the league is seeking for triple and punitive damages, a stop to the sales of unauthorized cards, and recall of the 2009 and 2010 baseball cards manufactured by Upper Deck. Other licensing woes faced by Upper Deck Terry Melia, a spokesman for the Carlsbad-based trading card maker, stated that the company has no comment on the lawsuit. It seems that this is just a continuation of licensing woes being experienced by Upper Deck. Just days ago, Upper Deck finalized a settlement to end a lawsuit filed by Konami Digital Entertainment Inc. Based in Redwood City, California, Konami was also a former licensing partner. According to the suit, Upper Deck manufactured thousands of unauthorized Yu-Gi-Oh cards. The card maker used to hold rights in distributing the popular Konami trading card game in the United States and Europe. The settlement, of which the terms were not disclosed to the public, was reached on the first day of the trial for this lawsuit just recently.