3 ms·

> Patents: this might be more tricky to work around. Patents protect algorithms and methods of production which might be integral to the game. I am not aware of

> Patents: this might be more tricky to work around. Patents protect algorithms and methods of production which might be integral to the game. I am not aware of games who are protected by patents. Given how much money is in the games industry as a whole it is kind of weird actually that we haven’t seen any publicly known patent trolling targeting game development studios yet. Perhaps they haven’t been targeted. Perhaps they’ve paid up in silence. Or perhaps it has happened and the public knows — it’s just that I haven’t heard of it.

Teknoman117 7y ago
I think the issue here is that basically all of the wealthy game companies are constantly copying game mechanics from each other that if any of them tried to start litigating over similar games, the whole thing would explode in their face. Hence why when PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds tried to sue Epic, they did it in South Korea. Also, FWIW, I found this online: https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/273935/Texas_court_affirms_game_mechanics_not_protected_under_copyright_law.php https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/273935/Texas_court_affir... (admittedly, that ruling makes sense, game mechanics would need to be patented, not something you copyright)
- Moru 7y ago
  Patent trolls is in general a company whose only reason to exist is to buy our register simple, general patents and sue other companies. There is usually no other business that can explode in their face. That is one of the most dangerous aspect of them.
johndough 7y ago
We don't hear about most cases because of NDAs, but here are some examples: https://www.x-plane.com/x-world/lawsuit/ https://www.x-plane.com/x-world/lawsuit/ https://www.clickerheroes2.com/patent_libel.php https://www.clickerheroes2.com/patent_libel.php https://www.gamedev.net/forums/topic/645267-patent-trolls-attacking-small-indie-developers/ https://www.gamedev.net/forums/topic/645267-patent-trolls-at...

Teknoman117 7y ago

I think the issue here is that basically all of the wealthy game companies are constantly copying game mechanics from each other that if any of them tried to start litigating over similar games, the whole thing would explode in their face. Hence why when PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds tried to sue Epic, they did it in South Korea. Also, FWIW, I found this online: https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/273935/Texas_court_affirms_game_mechanics_not_protected_under_copyright_law.php https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/273935/Texas_court_affir... (admittedly, that ruling makes sense, game mechanics would need to be patented, not something you copyright)

Moru 7y ago
Patent trolls is in general a company whose only reason to exist is to buy our register simple, general patents and sue other companies. There is usually no other business that can explode in their face. That is one of the most dangerous aspect of them.

johndough 7y ago

We don't hear about most cases because of NDAs, but here are some examples: https://www.x-plane.com/x-world/lawsuit/ https://www.x-plane.com/x-world/lawsuit/ https://www.clickerheroes2.com/patent_libel.php https://www.clickerheroes2.com/patent_libel.php https://www.gamedev.net/forums/topic/645267-patent-trolls-attacking-small-indie-developers/ https://www.gamedev.net/forums/topic/645267-patent-trolls-at...