Right now, I'm working on an a relatively small game targeting the iPhone and the PC OSes. I probably shouldn't worry about patents as much until the game is done and ready to ship, but I guess it's good to learn this political aspect as soon as possible to avoid any possible future legal battles. 1. What patent would you recommend? 2. Should I get a patent during the pre or post release phase? 3. The game has some elements of 2 games (Puzzle Bobble and Tetris Attack) but still retains it uniqueness of course, essentially making it a clone. Would that effect what type of patent to get? 4. How much should I expect to pay for this patent? I did do a little reading on patents, but I wasn't sure which one was right for software related purposes. What would you recommend? Thanks.

None, neither, no, nothing, none. Software patents are stupid, ridiculous blights on humanity that should never have been invented, and now (thanks to In Re Bilski) most are going to die the second they are brought into court.

You automatically have copyright on whatever code you write. This is enough.

EDIT: Actually, I take that back, it isn't quite enough sometimes. Big companies register trademarks for any particularly identifying marks, logos, or names in their creation. This is why you can't name your game "Gears of Warfare" or use a circular logo with the letters EA in them, as the similarity may be confusing to customers and damage the affected companies' reputation.

1. None

2. Never... But pre if you had to. Patents can take a long time to be granted, so you would submit an application during development and then probably ship with "patent pending" written on the product (and hope the patent is actually granted).

3.You can only patent original, non-obvious ideas. Clones need not apply.

4. Thousands for the original application, plus extra to hire a lawyer to write up your 'invention disclosure' into legalese (e.g. a software configuration combined with a portable hardware device creating a virtual space containing a plurality of bobbles...). A simple 2 page invention disclosure can easily blow out into hundreds of pages of legalese.

And then if you actually want to use the patent (i.e. to attack another company you think is stealing your ideas), tens to hundreds of thousands.



As lmelior says, you probably don't want a patent. Your entire work is protected by copyright automatically, and if you want to protect any names or iconography, just put (TM) after them...

Patents don't apply to creative works, they apply to physical items, processes and mechanisms -- portions of software are patentable when they fall under processes and mechanisms, but this has been applied far, far, far too liberally in the past, which is why I and many others are against the idea of software patents. For example, Jeff Bezos, president of Amazon.com, holds a pattent on "one click shopping" -- essentially, that you can click on a button to buy something on the internet, which, to my mind, ought to fall well within the realms of "obvious" and un-patentable. In the gaming world, software patents might apply to something like the software system used to derive the position of the WiiMote controller from the camera input.

Copyright covers creative works like art, literature, music, games and more -- copyright is implicit upon creation of an original work -- though it can be a good idea to get a formal registration of your work eventually. In the gaming world, the game as a whole, and its associated literary, musical, character designs, art and other content fall under copyright.

Trademark applies essentially to product and company identity -- its purpose is to prevent fraudulent knockoffs from attempting to pass themselves off as the real-deal. This protects customers by, in theory, lessening the chances of them believing that they are purchasing the real thing; and it protects companies from such fraudsters tarnishing their reputation by producing inferior goods. Of course, its largely up to the trademark holder to pursue these folks and bring abuses to the attention of the appropriate authorities. In the gaming world, company names, game titles, logos and in some instances individual characters (such as Mario or Sonic) fall under trademark.

As for the usual disclaimer -- I am not a lawyer. The above holds accurate to my own understaning, it is not to be taken as legal advice; merely as one average Joe passing on his understanding to another.