Winning Moves, the firm behind Top Trumps card games says it will vigorously defend Barclays Premier League's claims
Top Trumps, the card game loved by geeky children in the 1970s and 80s, is being sued by the Barclays Premier League.
The case, which throws up the prospect of a famous giant killing act, pitches England's top football division against the niche card game's owner, Winning Moves, which had sales of £8.8m in 2009.
In documents filed with the high court, the Premier League claims damages "not currently capable of assessment" and alleges that Winning Moves has used "unauthorised action photographs" of top footballers in its card game: Mini Top Trumps Football 2010/11 Season. The legal documents outline how the Premier League believes that the £1.99-a-pack Top Trumps game is being "passed off" as an authorised product, which is causing the football competition "loss and damage".
It further claims that the cards are "of poor quality and are of a standard which would not be approved by the claimant … The cards include information which is inaccurate, such as: card 89 states that [Tottenham Hotspur forward] Peter Crouch is 13 years old when in fact he is 29".
The Premier League, which has broadcast revenues alone in excess of £1bn a year, declined to comment. A spokesman for Winning Moves said: "We shall be defending these claims vigorously".
Winning Moves has a licence to produce card games where all images and statistics relate to a single Premier League club. The rights to cards featuring Premier League players from different teams is held by Topps Europe Holdings, which produces a collection called Match Attax. Last season, Topps made sales of its Premier League cards of about £32m.
The original Top Trumps game was launched in 1977 and was aimed at boys – concentrating on military equipment and sports stars. The brand has passed through various toy companies since, such as Dubreq, which also produced the Stylophone, and Monopoly-maker Waddingtons. However, Top Trumps fell out of fashion during the 1990s and, in 1999, Winning Moves was invited by its shareholder – Waddingtons-owner Hasbro – to delve through its back catalogue for any forgotten games that might be relaunched. Winning Moves director Tom Liddell, the self-proclaimed "Top Trumps guardian" picked out the game.
The company produces variants of the games, including numerous versions based on licensing agreements. They include Top Trumps of Harry Hill's TV Burp, FIFA World Cup 2010 and Doctor Who.