🚀 go-pugleaf

pjhst10+@pitt.edu (Peter   J Hill) writes:

>I have an idea for a new game.  Does anyone know if I should copyright it, or
>do I have to get a patent, or what?  Thanks for your reply

If all you have is an idea, you can't do either.  If this is a
role-playing or other paper game, you can copyright the final rules (or
any sets of rules up until then, for that matter).  Copyright only
protects the _form_ of the document, though.  Someone can still take all
of your ideas and use them in a different game, with only very slight
modifications.  

--
Ramez Naam
naam@terra.cecer.army.mil

In article <naam.726296621@terra.cecer.army.mil> naam@cecer.army.mil (Ramez Naam) writes:
>If all you have is an idea, you can't do either.  If this is a
>role-playing or other paper game, you can copyright the final rules (or
>any sets of rules up until then, for that matter).  Copyright only
>protects the _form_ of the document, though.  Someone can still take all
>of your ideas and use them in a different game, with only very slight
>modifications.  
>
>--
>Ramez Naam
>naam@terra.cecer.army.mil

Let me clarify myself, I have an idea for a board game (monopoly type of
setup, but totally different concept) I am making up the prototype for
the game.  Once that is finished, I want to be able to sell it.  What
do I have to do to protect myself from people trying to take my idea
and make a game just like it, and take all of the money from my idea.

pjhst10+@pitt.edu

pjhst10+@pitt.edu (Peter   J Hill) writes:

>Let me clarify myself, I have an idea for a board game (monopoly type of
>setup, but totally different concept) I am making up the prototype for
>the game.  Once that is finished, I want to be able to sell it.  What
>do I have to do to protect myself from people trying to take my idea
>and make a game just like it, and take all of the money from my idea.

>pjhst10+@pitt.edu

I really don't know what the rules for copyrighting things like playing
boards are, or even if there are any.  Sorry.  In any case, there isn't
really anything you can do.  If a big game company sees your idea and
decides that it wants to use it, they'll use it.  Fortunately, from`
what I hear from people involved in the business, most companies
(at least, role-playing companies, but I'd presume board-game 
companies are similar) are pretty good about respecting others' ideas.

--
Ramez Naam
naam@terra.cecer.army.mil

You can get patents on board games; I know of some people who did.  I
assume that most board-game patents are like theirs, "A patent on the
method of moving playing pieces... blah, blah, blah" or something to that
effect.  I'd heard that getting a patent was expensive (for lawyers and
patent searches), but I don't think they had huge resources (they just sell
the game mail-order, and they still have day jobs) so maybe it's not as bad
as I've heard.

	-- Jim

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Edwards-Hewitt               jim@visix.com | Life is a game where 
President, Interactive Literature Foundation   | you play yourself.
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