Hi, I'm just curious, what kind of patent/licenses will I need, and how much will they cost, to get a shareware game going? I mean, say I got a little game that I would like to sell as shareware, so what will I need to do to make it, you know, legally mine, so that other people cant just sell it, so I can sell it & stuff. Well, you get the point :)

You don't have to do anything. The game is yours and no one else is allowed to sell it. Of course they might steal it (but it isn't very likely), in which case you could take legal action - provided you have the money to pay a lawyer.

You could register the copyright or the name/logo as a trademark. Doing so will cost varying amount depending on where you are but neither are actually essential. You get protection under the law even if copyrights and trademarks aren't registered. In some countries you get extra protection if the copyright/trademark is registered, but as mentioned above, only if you can afford a lawyer to take action on your behalf.

Given that you are just starting out it is unlikely that you will make much money. It usually takes shareware authors some years (and three or four games) to build up any presence and generate a decent income. Worry about copyrights and trademarks once you have something worth protecting. Currently your time would be better spent working out how to market and sell your new game.

Good luck with your game.

So actually I dont need to license anything to sell it, as long as I can prove I made it? Great!

Thanks, Obscure!

Assuming that you create all your own artwork, sounds, characters, and code then you don't have to do anything special. If you are getting some of these things from other people then you will have to get an agreement with them.