on February 2nd, 2010 by rosschrisman2003
Posted in Sports Card Info
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on February 2nd, 2010 by Tracy Hackler
Posted in Beckett Blog
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on February 2nd, 2010 by JRJ
Posted in Sports Locker
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on February 2nd, 2010 by Chris Harris
Posted in Stale Gum
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on February 2nd, 2010 by madding
Posted in Cards on Cards
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on February 2nd, 2010 by 30-Year Old Cardboard
51 days was certainly worth the wait for these great autographs!!
Steve Avery was a fan favorite during the early-to-mid 1990’s when he pitched for the Atlanta Braves. Teaming up to be part of one of the greatest starting pitching rotations in the game’s history, Avery was often the #4 guy, but his role was significant and [...]
Continue reading about TTM Success: Steve Avery!! »
Posted in 30 Year Old Cardboard
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on February 2nd, 2010 by White Sox Cards
Posted in White Sox Cards
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on February 2nd, 2010 by deal
Posted in Phungo
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on February 2nd, 2010 by White Sox Cards
Posted in White Sox Cards
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on February 2nd, 2010 by chrisolds
Posted in Beckett Blog
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on February 2nd, 2010 by zman40
Posted in Auto Cards
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on February 2nd, 2010 by zman40
Posted in Auto Cards
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on February 2nd, 2010 by Tuff Stuff
By now, many of you have heard the news that Upper Deck is on its way back to the courtroom. Fresh on the heels of its costly lawsuit with Konami for producing counterfeit Yu Gi Oh cards, UD finds itself heading back to court for alleged trademark infringement regarding its recently released baseball card products. (TO READ MORE, click here)
After UD released its 2009 Ultimate Collection and Signature Stars Baseball products
last week, many who saw the products wondered how the card company could produce featuring
MLB logos despite the fact that they didn’t have a license to do so. Well, less than
a week later MLB has responded with a lawsuit against UD coming days after sending
a letter to distributors asking them to stop selling the products and return them
to the card maker.
While Upper Deck has the right to use the images of MLB players on its cards, according
to the exclusive deal MLB signed with Topps, UD is not licensed to produce cards with
MLB logos attached which brought on the suit. While UD’s two new products, and I’m
assuming the four remaining baseball card releases scheduled to hit the market, do
come with the disclaimer “these products are not licensed by Major League Baseball,”
did UD really believe by placing a statement like that on the products that they could
get around the licensing issue?
Perhaps their thinking was that if they unveiled the 2009 products in 2010 they would
be free to use the logos because they could claim the sets were produced in 2009 when
UD was still licensed with the MLB. Or perhaps they consulted their team of lawyers
prior to bullrushing the 2010 baseball card market and have been assured they have
a legal loophole up their sleeves that would allow them to continue to produce the
unlicensed logoed cards.
Maybe UD thought they could get the products out on the market and create enough of
a buzz about them that the demand for them would exceed the financial damages of another
court case. As all collectors realize, now that a lawsuit has been filed by MLB, the
two products released (and likely any remaining scheduled 2010 UD Baseball releases)
will be pulled from the shelves. The limited run could make them much more sought
after by collectors looking for a limited release and demand could be huge, sending
values through the roof.
Perhaps this legal loophole would allow UD to continue to produced unlicensed cards
that include logos and ultimately leave Topps wondering why they dipped so deep into
their bank account to get the exclusive license in the first place.
While it will take some time to answer all the questions posed here, one thing is
for certain. Either Upper Deck is going to come out of all this looking really smart
or really stupid. Only time will tell so stay tuned to www.tuffstuff.com for updates
on this story.
Continue reading about What’s next for Upper Deck? »
Posted in 7th Inning Stretch
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on February 2nd, 2010 by White Sox Cards
Posted in White Sox Cards
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on February 2nd, 2010 by chrisolds
Posted in Beckett Blog
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