Topps Suing Upper Deck

According to a Boston Globe report, the Topps company is suing Upper Deck company.

The suit alleges that Upper Deck has used images of Topps exclusive players that were signed through CMG Worldwide Inc. after their contracts with Upper Deck expired.

Players included in the suit are Jackie Robinson, Lou Gehrig, Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx, Rogers Hornsby, Thurman Munson, George Sisler, and Johnny Mize. All of these players are under exclusive contracts with Topps in 2004.

I will be keeping tabs on this lawsuit as new information becomes available.

So what does this mean for the card business?

Well, a quick check of Upper Deck's website shows that SP Legendary Cuts product information has been removed from the site.

According to the Blowout Cards checklist, each of the players listed in Topps complaint do appear in SP Legendary Cuts.

Of the 532 current eBay listings for 2008 SP Legendary Cuts only one is for a card of one of the infringed upon players: Johnny Mize (image above).

I do not know if the remaining cases of Legendary Cuts Upper Deck has in its possession will not be shipped or if all the product will eventually be recalled, but it might be a smart buy to pick up some of these cards while you can. I, of course, do not guarantee this claim at all, it is just my opinion about what may happen.

For more information about this, please see Cardboard Junkie's post.