Unfortunately, cases of plagiarism and theft in the video game industry are more common than one would think. A new serious accusation has just reared its head, and now it’s Disney and its new collectible card game that are in the eye of the hurricane.
In 2022, the mouse house announced Disney Lorcana, a competitive game where players use cards to battle. Of course, there are characters from major franchises like Hercules, Frozen, Aladdin, 101 Dalmatians, Peter Pan, and many more. The project is run by the publisher Ravensburger.
Disney Lorcana will debut on August 18, 2023. However, the launch has a thread, as The Upper Deck Company studio, specialized in card games, filed a lawsuit against Ravensburger, alleging that one of the people involved in the game stole confidential information.
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Disney Lorcana is in danger; accuse designer of plagiarism and theft
In the lawsuit filed in a California court, the plaintiff alleged that co-designer Ryan Miller participated in a “nearly identical” game known as Rush of Ikorr while his contract with The Upper Deck was still in effect. Thus, he accuses him of stealing and plagiarizing key elements of said project to create the Disney title.
“Throughout his time as lead game designer for Rush of Ikorr, Miller had direct access to Upper Deck’s confidential and proprietary information, including but not limited to draft rules, concepts, components, designs, marketing strategies, and plans. of implementation. According to the information and belief, Miller maintained access to these items even after his relationship with Upper Deck ended and used, referenced, and/or relied on them to create Lorcana for Ravensburger,” the lawsuit states.
“This allowed Ravensburger to gain a competitive advantage, accelerated launch, and bring to market a nearly identical TCG under a different brand,” the 19-page legal document read elsewhere.
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The Upper Deck Company requires the judge to delay and cancel the launch of Disney Lorcana, scheduled for this summer. In addition, it seeks punitive damages and injunctive relief that prohibits the publisher from releasing the card game to the market.
“We encourage competition in the industry, but we also strongly believe in following the rules to ensure that the gaming community benefits from the different creative options of each manufacturer,” Jason Masherah, president of The Upper Deck Company, said in a statement.
But tell us, what do you think of this legal situation? Let us read you in the comments.
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