I'm pretty sure Australia also has the difference between unregistered trademarks (indicated by TM) and registered trademarks (indicated by R in a circle) just like the US; I assume the UK is the same. I think the basic principle is the same as with the US; for an unregistered trademark, you can take it to court to let a judge decide whether you have used your trademark enough in commerce for their to be a public acknowledgement that the trademark belongs to your product. I'm sure there's a lot of difference in the legal subtleties, but it's the same in concept.

Note though that I'm only going from what I've read about Aussie IP law and my brief interactions with people who know what they're talking about so I could be wrong here, and I'm nowhere near as qualified as madelelaw to talk about U.S. law [grin].

To the OP: unless you think your engine is spectacularly novel and potentially profitable, I wouldn't worry about patenting it. If you do, you will need to see a patent lawyer (it's extremely unwise to write up an application yourself unless you know what you're doing), and it isn't cheap to apply. I'd trademark an engine only if you were using it in commerce somehow. Copyright you get automatically.

I would however register a business name to sell online. You can sell under your own name, but as has been written you'll be opening up yourself to personal liability. Registering a business name is pretty cheap as expenses go, gives you extra legal protection plus looks more professional. I'm planning on selling games online myself and will be registering when I get close to release. You'll need to look up the rules for your own region, as I only know the basics about business registeration in Australia which isn't applicable to you.

You mean copyright and trademark? Not software patent.
Software patent is when you are trying to patent your algorithms or architecture. If that's what your are thinking, forget about it dude. Huge multinationals with loads of money often are powerless to sue small companies that clone their intelectual property.

You should protect your software with copyright and possibly trademark a brand. Yes.

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Original post by madelelaw Quote: Original post by Daerax My understanding, based on conversations with IP lawyers (one of which is my sister) is that trademarks are not automatically granted, in fact unless the application is properly filled out they can be rejected - with a none refundable filing fee of course, which is not cheap. There can be 'unregistered trademarks' where a company trades long enough under a certain brand+industry such that it can call out someone else for trying to pass off as them. But they are so difficult and expensive to prove and enforce that they are not worth anyones time really. And certainly cannot be relied upon as a IP protection mechanism or protecting against someone registering a mark. The distinction is, I believe, the difference between US and UK law. Under U.S. law I can assure you (and as our OP is from North Carolina, this applies) that at least some protection will be granted to a non-infringing trade name once it's used in commerce. I qualified my statement with "under U.S. law" for a reason. Contrary to popular belief, IP laws are not treated equally among the various countries (and sometimes aren't acknowledged at all), and I'm not familiar enough with UK law to say whether or not you assessment is accurate. This is primarily a US law issue, as few other countries would be able to establish the requisite jurisdiction and it's doubtful that our OP could afford to bring suit against an infringer in the UK.

Hey now, I was not attacking the factuality of your statement as I have seen and bookmarked your site which has knowledge useful beyond games startups in the U.S. So I know you know your stuff and know more than me. Instead I was interested in this distinction.

In the UK, unregistered trademarks can be protected by passing off laws but this only works if you have been trading at length and you can prove this to be true, which is often difficult and with expensive litigation costs. It is not automatic as soon as you begin trading and still gives no protection against someone else registering the mark. It is simply not something you can rely on to protect your IP. Another difference (is it?) In UK (and EU i think) you cannot trademark a name if it tells something about the goods or services you provide. It has to be non-descriptive of the area of business you partake in.

Of course given enough money, there are exceptions and interpretation loopholes and breaking precedents and what not to defend or argue your case with, which is what makes lawyers so important and why I have always suspected lawyers would make excellent C++ programmers.

Question: Is it possible to get pure software patents on algorithims in US?

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Trapper Zoid, I am pretty sure that you cannot trademark an engine. Only the brand you build around it, so the logos and name and phrases. With each trademark usually taken separately to increase the scope of the protection. The whole system is biased towards who has the most money.

Also he would only be protected personally, apart from his business if he registered as some kind of Limited Liability entity, not as a sole trader -uk term (doing business as in US? dont know).

[Edited by - Daerax on January 31, 2009 12:33:02 PM]

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Original post by Daerax In UK (and EU i think) you cannot trademark a name if it tells something about the goods or services you provide. It has to be non-descriptive of the area of business you partake in.

Correct. Protection can be granted in the entire Community (note the destinction between EU and EC) through a Community trade mark or nationally, according to whatever laws are in affect there. Legislation of importance here is Art. 7(1)(c) CTMR (basiaclly, a Community Trade Mark cannot be descriptive). Case law of particular interest are "C-383/99 Proctor & Gamble v OHIM" and "Case C-191/01 P OHIM v Wrigley". These two cases contradict each other on a few points though. (Note that this is EC specific law, but it serves as a good guide line of what to expect).

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Original post by Daerax Question: Is it possible to get pure software patents on algorithims in US?

I have heard that the IP protection grant is more lax in the US, but to what extent may be better answered by someone who's studied US law. But still, the fact that Amazon (I think) was able to patent the one-click business method as such (not within the EC though) should give you a good indication of how abstract subject matter the scope of patentable inventions covers in the US.

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Original post by Daerax Trapper Zoid, I am pretty sure that you cannot trademark an engine. Only the brand you build around it, so the logos and name and phrases.

Yep, Art. 4 CTMR. (Remember; guide lines, this does not neccessarily affect you).

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Original post by CodaKiller I just want to prevent the unauthorized replication and distribution of my software, though of course I know unless I do something spectacular with it no one will want to but thats beside the point.

Your work is already protected by copyright (Berne Convention). Copyright is pretty much harmonized in the western world, but enforcement is still a matter for the national courts and their respective legislation. For how long protection is granted depends - probably 50 or 70 years from the date of your death. So no worries duration-wise.