Per today’s news via numerous sources on the web, Upper Deck is going to be facing some major heat thanks to some horrible business practices done by their Upper Deck Entertainment department. As said in the report, UD had taken the production of the once popular Yu-Gi-Oh! card game and re-printed many cards outside of the license agreement. This led to the creation of over 600,000 counterfeit cards outside of the international agreement with Konami and the other creators of the show, and brought about a major lawsuit.
Really, this could not be a more inappropriate use of legal licensing and manufacturing practices, and it makes me angry to think that this actually happened. Although UDE did admit to their mistake, they will still have to answer to the masses, and should have a large sum of money to pay due to their underhanded practices of handling this the way it was.
This isnt the first time UD has ventured outside the legal limits of manufacturing, either. In 1989, there were heavy reports of them re-printing the iconic Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card after the product had already hit shelves, thus giving employees and friends access to a rare and valuable card.
I have applauded UD in recent months for trying to improve upon an image that has made them the de-facto devil in this hobby to some collectors, yet I dont see that here. This is a terrible situation, and may even put a large dent in the company’s card branches.
I will report on further developments as they occur.