Category: Patents

In this interesting Gamasutra feature, The Trouble with Patents, David Sirlin, a Bay area video game developer, discusses some of the problems with video game industry patents and argues that:

• patents are too easy to get
• many are trivial and do not pass the non-obvious test;
• the length of patent protection, especially in the context of the Internet and fast changing industries like the video game industry, is too long;
• the cost of defending a patent infringement suit is too high with the result that marginal patents are frequently not tested;
• to determine whether a prospective idea is obvious, and therefor patentable, it should be submitted for peer review as part of the patent prosecution process rather than the current system of testing for obviousness through the costly judicial process after a patent is granted; and
• the length of patent protection should be different for different types of patents.

Continue reading “Gamasutra Feature: The Trouble with Patents”

In this interesting article entitled “Its Just a Game Right?“, Ross Dannenberg, Esq. and Steve Chang, Esq. describe the top myths surrounding patent protection of video games, in the hopes of encouraging innovative game developers to take steps to protect their valuable video game innovations.

Source: IP Frontline