Two More Staggering Defeats for the Other Card Company.

On the same day it was reported that Topps gained the exclusive license to produce Team USA cards (something they have not been able to do since 1993), it has just been reported on the number one source of the hobby that MLB Properties has settled its lawsuit with Upper Deck...with everything going in favor of MLB Properties.

To wit (per the article just posted on Beckett.com's site):

– Upper Deck will pay MLB Properties more than $2.4 million (the entire amount in dispute) for Upper Deck's 2009 debts.

– Upper Deck will pay MLB Properties a substantial sum of money for the unlicensed cards it sold in 2010. The specific sum of that payments confidential.

– Upper Deck has agreed not to issue any additional releases of infringing cards. Last year it issued 15 baseball card releases and there are currently only three infringing releases that are in distribution in 2010.

– Upper Deck agreed it will not make any new sets of cards using MLB logos, uniforms, trade dress, or Club color combinations.

– Upper Deck also agreed it will not airbrush, alter or block MLB marks in future products.

– Upper Deck must receive approval from MLB for the use of baseball jerseys, pants, jackets, caps, helmets or catcher's equipment in future products featuring players.

This certainly is a blow to UD's efforts to produce baseball cards, although it's not entirely impossible for them to do so as they do have the Players' Association license. But if they can't airbrush logos off the pictures (as they were supposed to have done in the first place), how are they expected to come up with baseball cards going forward??? Does this mean that the value of the contra-band cards will go up? Should I be running to the nearest Wal-Mart or Target and clear out the UD inventory (who am I kidding...that's akin to sacrilege).

And one final question...will these two losses announced today, along with the other messes it's Chairman got themselves into (Konami, among others), finally send UD into the total collapse that has been waiting for them for a very long time???

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama