Recently Jessy asked about trademarking a company name. Now I have a similar question about acquiring a game patent. At first I wasn’t sure if a game was copyrighted or patented, but a quick Google search told me that only the written content, rules, artwork and music are covered by copyright. The actual game itself is covered by a patent. Is there a cheap and easy way of acquiring a patent? I remember seeing something like that–a method used by small businesses–somewhere on the Internet. I searched the Unity forums on this topic, but came up with nothing. Is a lawyer (gulp) necessary? I know a patent search is part of the process. Can it be done by an ordinary mortal like me?
Patents are a lengthy expensive process. You have to ask yourself do you really have a game idea that has never been done before that would warrant a patent. If not it is probably already covered by the prior art statutes and therefore non patentable.
I’m not an expert on patent law, and although I’ve never applied for a patent myself, my father was a writer and inventor and held several dozen patents until his passing, so I do have some “second hand” experience in the area.
In a word “no”. Most inventors go through agencies who do all/most of the work and their fees vary.
I think the real question you need to be asking yourself is if your idea is “patentable”. I can’t recall many cases where companies have successfully patented something developed with software. Your invention has to be truly unique in order to qualify. I remember the time when some company (can’t remember who) tried to patent “multimedia” and the uproar that caused in the computer industry. The issue in this case was that this company managed to slip through the Patent Office something that several hundred developers had already been doing for almost a decade. They ended up loosing their patent and going out of business.
Keep in mind, you can protect virtually everything about your game with copyrights: from it’s title, to any narration, artwork, sound track, characters, gameplay, logos, music, etc. etc. When you add it all up, there isn’t much left for someone to steal without you having some legal protection.
Thank you, Lallander and bigkahuna, for your quick replies. I’m a long way from finishing (much less protecting) my game, but this has always been on my mind. It’s a relief to know that I don’t have to go this route, even though nothing like my game has ever been invented since the dawn of mankind (it involves unique things like accumulating points, figuring out puzzles, and two new concepts called “winning” and “losing”).
I don’t know the details of the case or cases–or even if they occurred–but I remember years ago hearing about the inventors of one of the first role playing games (I won’t mention the name of the game or company, in case I’m wrong) suing other companies that were putting out very similar role playing games, possibly because the concept of role playing was patented (?). I assume that they lost, because rpg’s are being produced everywhere. Anyway, there are no such new concepts in my game…
If anyone else has heard of such a case, please correct me if I’m wrong.
Besides the whole issue of getting a patent, even after you get one you’ll have to take up the task of protecting it. There’s no such thing as the “patent police” in this country, so the entire business of pursuing violators will come out of your pocket.
Even if you get a patent and actively protect it here in the US, it doesn’t cover you in other countries. They could make an exact copy in countries like China, and there wouldn’t be much you could do to stop them. Unless you’re talking about a product that may earn -millions- and you have ten’s (or hundreds) of thousands to invest in protecting your idea, you may be better off copyrighting as much as you can and keep the rest a “company secret”.
What?! I’m doing a game that has winning and losing! You’re stealing my ideas! Thief! Prepare to eat lawsuit death!!
Anyway, yeah, I’ve never seen a successful game that didn’t have clones, so if anybody can do anything about it, they don’t bother. Best to spend the time and effort making a good game, so people will be more inclined to buy the original (yours) instead of the cheap knock-offs (theirs).
What?! I'm doing a game that has winning and losing! You're stealing my ideas! Thief! Prepare to eat lawsuit death!!
Anyway, yeah, I've never seen a successful game that didn't have clones, so if anybody can do anything about it, they don't bother. Best to spend the time and effort making a good game, so people will be more inclined to buy the original (yours) instead of the cheap knock-offs (theirs).
Edit: Oops, I put your quote in a code box!
I don’t know, Eric, if you really want to tangle with my team of high-powered lawyers. They make Clarence Darrow look like an ambulance chaser…
The way I look at it, having people copy your game idea could be some of your best advertising. It tells you and others that the idea is a great one and that the game was popular enough to copy. The curious (who know that it’s been cloned) might want to check it out. Games like D and D and Mario Brothers still stand the test of time, while their emulators might fall by the wayside.
I really don’t know much about the history of contemporary games, so I’m talking off the top of my head.
Thanks, technicat, for the links and information. Wow, now I’m confused. It seems that the patent process is more necessary than I thought, not only to protect your own ideas, but to keep yourself from infringing on someone else’s ideas. I didn’t realize there’s so much litigation going on behind the scenes in the gaming world. Even ideas like “playing Bingo in a different way” get patented. According to the results of one case, copyright protection wasn’t enough…
Now I’m curious. Do most of the Unity community folks who have published games have patents for all or parts of their games? That’s probably another thread topic, but I’ll ask it here anyway.
I’ve never heard of any individuals trying to get patents for games. I think one problem for most games (to be honest) is that by the time all the legal stuff is done, assuming you even end up with a valid patent, not many people care about it anymore because it’s ancient history.
I know a patent search is part of the process. Can it be done by an ordinary mortal like me?
According to the results of one case, copyright protection wasn’t enough…