Topps Spells Out Complaint; Upper Deck Responds

Topps has continued filing mountains of paperwork and exhibits in a New York court as part of its trademark violation suit against rival Upper Deck.

Topps filed suit earlier this year, saying Upper Deck was copying its vintage designs on its 2009 OPC line by using designs Topps created and used on its cards in the 1960s and 70s. Topps also claims Upper Deck should be barred from using cut up Topps cards in its Legendary Cuts product.

The copyright infringement angle has even caught the eye of some in the legal community.

Topps cited several examples in which Upper Deck created 2009 Legendary Cuts autograph cards that included cut signatures taken from old Topps cards on which the Topps logo and design are clearly visible.

"Upper Deck used the Topps name and mark on the Legendary Cuts Cards in an attempt to exploit the tremendous goodwill associated with the Topps name and mark," wrote attorneys for Topps in the amended complaint filed last week in a New York court.

Upper Deck responded in its own filing by saying Topps "does not own or control the exclusive rights allegedly infringed" and that laws don't permit a company to "monopolize the use of common, generic product design features."

Topps claims the public could be confused by Upper Deck's designs--a claim Upper Deck says is baseless.

There is plenty of legalese, but you can read the details in the 37-page Topps' amended complaint and Upper Deck's 38-page response below.