June 2023 kicked off with the Disney Lorcana publisher being sued for allegedly "stealing" another card game. In this complaint, rival company Upper Decks revealed that it would be seeking legal action against Ravensburger for reportedly "stealing and copying Upper Deck’s original game," the then-unannounced 'Rush of Ikorr.'
More specifically, it alleges that designer Ryan Miller had worked on Rush of Ikorr before using that knowledge to help develop Lorcana for Ravensburger. To be precise, the complaint reads that "Miller had direct access to Upper Deck’s confidential, proprietary information, including, without limitation, Rush of Ikorr draft rules, concepts, components, designs, marketing strategies, and plans for implementation. On information and belief, Miller maintained access to these things even after terminating his relationship with Upper Deck and used, referenced, and/or otherwise relied on them to create Lorcana for Ravensburger."
Along with damages, Upper Decks is seeking "injunctive relief enjoining Ravensburger from publicly releasing Lorcana." This means the card game would be prohibited from launching.
As for Ravensburger, the Disney Lorcana publisher calls lawsuit alleging its design was stolen "entirely without merit" in an official response. According to Ravensburger North America Sr. Communications Director Lisa Krueger, "we at Ravensburger stand behind the integrity of our team and the originality of our products. The baseless claims filed this week are entirely without merit, and we look forward to proving this in due time. In the meantime, our focus continues to be on developing and launching a fantastic game in August."