Two Wizards of the Coast shareholders have filed a lawsuit against the Hasbro CEO, former Wizards of the Coast president, and several current and past board members, accusing of deliberate overproduction of “Magic: The Gathering” collectible game cards in order to create a scenario where the company’s stock price was inflated and the company bought back shares at that inflated price.
Investors and stakeholders of businesses that produce items where their value is set by scarcity – collectibles in this case, as well as any luxury goods – should demand transparency and verified data for production runs. Not only should there be secure track-and-trace technology and methods in-place to fight against counterfeiting, product diversion, and overproduction by vendors, employees, and outside entities – but suits like the one noted here make clear that the people with financial stakes in companies like these need the brand protected against any and all unfair and fraudulent actions, external and internal.
GlobalAutoID member iTrace Technologies has a white paper that addresses this issue and describes how their iTRACE 2DMI® provides the controls and traceability needed to combat overproduction, no matter what the cause or source is.
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