Quote: Original post by Hodgman

Quote: Original post by Hushed
Game ideas cant be copyrighted, or patented. Thats why anyone can recreate tetris, because no one can copyright the idea of falling blocks.

Patents are for inventions, such as a perpetual motion machine, or speakers.

I wouldn't be too sure about that. According to gamasutra, Sega owns the patents on games where:
* You drive around in a city, rather than a race track.
* There's an arrow that hovers around, pointing you to where you should go.
* Cars have an invisible aura around them of "danger zone" and a bigger aura around that one called "caution zone." Virtual people in the danger zone jump out of the way. Virtual people in the caution zone stop walking, rather than walk into danger.
* The size and shape of the auras described above can change based on the speed of your vehicle.

HOLY SH*T

Quote: Original post by Daniel Miller

Quote: Original post by Hodgman

Quote: Original post by Hushed
Game ideas cant be copyrighted, or patented. Thats why anyone can recreate tetris, because no one can copyright the idea of falling blocks.

Patents are for inventions, such as a perpetual motion machine, or speakers.

I wouldn't be too sure about that. According to gamasutra, Sega owns the patents on games where:
* You drive around in a city, rather than a race track.
* There's an arrow that hovers around, pointing you to where you should go.
* Cars have an invisible aura around them of "danger zone" and a bigger aura around that one called "caution zone." Virtual people in the danger zone jump out of the way. Virtual people in the caution zone stop walking, rather than walk into danger.
* The size and shape of the auras described above can change based on the speed of your vehicle.

HOLY SH*T

AND THAT'S NOT ALL!! JUST KEEP READING:

"Neither is it served by Namco’s patent 5,718,632, giving it a twenty-year government-sanctioned monopoly on using mini-games during another game’s loading screen. I don’t know how else to say this, but the idea of putting a mini-game in a loading screen is “obviously obvious.” "

Oh man! this is not good...

Dark Sylinc

PS: Thanks to all (I'm not confused any longer.)