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Copyright / Patent ?

11 replies [Last post]
Thu, 08/04/2005 - 12:12
Anonymous

Hi,

I could not see where to ask this question -- so I'm taking a shot in this forum.

Say I invented a game like, for example Othello, which is a very simple game.

How would I go about Copyrighting / Patenting it?
If I show it to games companies won't they just steal it?
If I self publish, won't some games company just steal the idea?

i.e. Lets say Othello had not been invented at this point. What would you recomend for the inventor to do, and how should he/she go forward with a great yet simple game like that...

All advice welcome.

Cheers,
JV

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Thu, 08/04/2005 - 12:21
#1
theraje
Offline
Joined: 12/31/1969
Re: Copyright / Patent ?

jv222 wrote:
How would I go about Copyrighting / Patenting it?

The best way to go about this is to go directly to the US Patent office, http://www.uspto.gov/

Just make sure you have a lot of money, and know someone who knows the applicable laws.

jv222 wrote:
If I show it to games companies won't they just steal it?

I asked this question recently, and the concensus was that game companies "aren't in the business of stealing ideas." I've never dealt with any of them myself, so I'm afraid I can't speak from first-hand experience.

jv222 wrote:
If I self publish, won't some games company just steal the idea?

The pitfall of a patent is that any old stranger can come by, make a small modification to your idea, and sell it as if it were his or her own. A patent would be of little help in such cases.

jv222 wrote:
i.e. Lets say Othello had not been invented at this point. What would you recomend for the inventor to do, and how should he/she go forward with a great yet simple game like that...

Again, I can't speak from experience, but what I would do is put trademark (TM, do not use R unless you get an official patent) and copyright (C) symbols on everything applicable, put all sketches/diagrams/etc. in an envelope, mail it to myself, and get it notarized as a "sealed document." It's cheap, and it's legal, although it won't help you too terribly much if you ever attempt to prosecute infringement.

I would then file those away, and talk to businesses about the idea... just be SURE to follow their submission guidelines. Don't submit to companies that aren't accepting ideas or do not have submission guidelines posted.

For what it's worth (I've never done this myself, just done some research on the subject), I hope this helps.

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Thu, 08/04/2005 - 21:07
#2
doho123
doho123's picture
Offline
Joined: 07/21/2008
Copyright / Patent ?

Quote:
Again, I can't speak from experience, but what I would do is put trademark (TM, do not use R unless you get an official patent) and copyright (C) symbols on everything applicable, put all sketches/diagrams/etc. in an envelope, mail it to myself, and get it notarized as a "sealed document."

To my knowledge, the "mail it to yourself" thing doesn't work any more.

However, if you are going to go through the trouble of getting something notarized, just get a notary to notarize each element you were going to put in the envelope; that way everything will be legally dated stamped.

Not really sure what protection this provides, however. At best, this prevents someone else from patenting our idea, since you will have legal proof of a "prior art" date. Assuming, of course, that the people doing the stealing don't fudge their dates around.

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Thu, 08/04/2005 - 21:24
#3
Anonymous
Copyright / Patent ?

For 30.00 spend the money to copyright it if you believe you have THE NEXT OTHELLO.

Otherwise, I am not so sure how well a copyright or a patent is in protecting your idea by looking at past posts and the games on the market most of the mechanics are already used and if not one they are combined, refined or recycled to a degree. take any game and change it just enough to make it unique enough from the patent and you have a new game and not infringing at all. Whereas the protection and EXPENSIVE troubles you went through are all wasted time and money.

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Fri, 08/05/2005 - 06:49
#4
Anonymous
Copyright / Patent ?

Quote:
However, if you are going to go through the trouble of getting something notarized, just get a notary to notarize each element you were going to put in the envelope; that way everything will be legally dated stamped.

By notarized, do you mean, go to a solicitor and get them do stamp each drawing etc and then leave it on thier premisis..?

Cheers,
JV

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Fri, 08/05/2005 - 14:36
#5
OutsideLime
Offline
Joined: 12/31/1969
Copyright / Patent ?

Hey leadingedge, have you ever clicked on Doho123's www link? Had me confused for a sec....

~Josh

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Fri, 08/05/2005 - 16:09
#6
phpbbadmin
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Joined: 04/23/2013
Copyright / Patent ?

jv222 wrote:
Quote:
However, if you are going to go through the trouble of getting something notarized, just get a notary to notarize each element you were going to put in the envelope; that way everything will be legally dated stamped.

By notarized, do you mean, go to a solicitor and get them do stamp each drawing etc and then leave it on thier premisis..?

Cheers,
JV

Having something notarized means taking documents to a notary public, which is basically someone who is authorized to notarize. The notarization gives further proof of your work existing at a certain time. Legally, I'm not really sure how much bargaining strength having something notarized actually provides. I've always thought Notarized documents were used to prove that a person actually signed something.

-Darke

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Fri, 08/05/2005 - 16:19
#7
FastLearner
Offline
Joined: 12/31/1969
Copyright / Patent ?

Your work is automatically copyrighted. If you register your copyright, you will be able to sue for damages and court costs. It costs a mere $30 and can be done at http://www.copyright.gov if you're in the US.

(Didn't see that info in the above.)

Copyright is good protection. It keeps people from copying the expression of your idea and selling it. It does not, however, protect the idea itself.

Game companies are very, very, very unlikely to steal your idea. No reasonable name game company will do it, as there's way too much to lose.

Notarizing just provides a witness that you did, indeed, sign something on a particular date. A filed copyright is more valuable, in my not-a-lawyer opinion, since it's also dated and a complete copy of your copyrighted work is on file with the government, something that should be much stronger protection.

And again, it's only $30.

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Wed, 08/10/2005 - 05:07
#8
Anonymous
Copyright / Patent ?

It seems that you can apply for a provisional patent and then be able to put 'patent pending' on your game for not a lot of money...

This eBook is quite interesting:

Patent Pending in 24 Hours
by Attorney Richard Stim & Attorney David Pressman
http://www.nolo.com/product.cfm/ObjectID/1F0E4794-D236-43C3-908BF76B43DC...

Also, you can do it through this site for $299
https://www.legalzoom.com/

Cheers,
JV :)

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Wed, 08/10/2005 - 09:42
#9
Anonymous
Copyright / Patent ?

Also found an excellent worldwide patent search system here...

http://ep.espacenet.com/search97cgi/s97_cgi.exe?Action=FormGen&Template=...

Cheers,
JV

p.s. Here's a sample search fo rthe term 'board game'.
Only 16,544 patents!

http://v3.espacenet.com/results?AB=board+game&sf=q&FIRST=1&CY=ep&LG=en&D...

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Wed, 08/10/2005 - 10:04
#10
zobmie
Offline
Joined: 12/31/1969
Copyright / Patent ?

FastLearner wrote:
Your work is automatically copyrighted. If you register your copyright, you will be able to sue for damages and court costs. It costs a mere $30 and can be done at http://www.copyright.gov if you're in the US.

To further clarify, any work you create, upon its creation is automatically copyrighted. You don't need to mail it to yourself, or register with the copyright office (although it helps). All you need for a copyright to hold up in court is SOME kind of proof that you created the work, even if it's just witnesses and materials.

This relatively new copyright law is a blessing in some ways and a curse in others. Copyrights are unflexable, and do not take into consideration the fact that an artist may want to share his work, or maybe not make a profit from it.

Thats where Creative Commons comes in.

www.creativecommons.com

If i were to publish a game i would certainly do it under a creative commons licence. Check it out!

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Sat, 08/20/2005 - 11:17
#11
Anonymous
Copyright / Patent ?

After all of the above I found out the following and would recomend it to anyone who wants to feel safe about thier creation.

It is possible to submit a provisional patent that will allow you to apply "patent pending" to your game for one year. The cost is $100. It can be submitted electronicly using software supplied by teh us patent office. This is a great option because it means you are patent pending instantly. (But is not for the feint hearted because the software is quite difficult to use).

So good news is I have now provisionaly patented my game with full instructions, concepts, and artwork and now feel much safer about showing it around.

Chees
JV :)

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