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0 pointsftxbro2y ago0 comments

I remember looking this up before, and game rule sets are not protected in USA. You can't make some game rules and say that other people can't make that game. The things that are protected are the things that go along with the game, like if you use any trademark name in the game or if you use any protected media like if it's a card game then you can't use the same card art. My understanding is that you can make a game with the same rules as scrabble and not call it scrabble or use their art and you are allowed to do it.

Edit: this is getting upvoted so maybe at this point I should say I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice lol

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jacobolus2y ago

In theory. In practice, depends what judge you pull, and you'd better have deep pockets for legal fights.

My friends made a Tetris-like game (under a different name, with unrelated art, just broadly similar rules) and were sued out of existence by The Tetris Company. Even though they were legally in the clear according to theoretical analysis, the judge took a brief look and decided "this seems like it should be a violation" and summarily decided in the Tetris Company's favor, without even engaging with any of the issues involved. Their pro-bono lawyers decided they didn't have the resources to mount an appeal, so that was the end of that.

mortenjorck2y ago

An interesting discussion from 2019: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19533219

Tetris Holdings, LLC v. Xio Interactive, Inc. held that the tetrominoes are "expression; they are not part of the ideas, rules, or functions of the game," which certainly seems open to dispute, but I could just as easily imagine the same standard being applied to letter tiles with a score value in the corner.

So yeah, unless you have a few spare million to get this precedent overturned, it's probably not worth it.

Aeolun2y ago

Wait what? That’s not expression. Without the blocks being the shapes they are there wouldn’t be a (viable) game, so it’s clearly part of the rules.

Whether the blocks look like jelly or concrete is expression. Or even the exact graphics they use in Tetris.

But the fact there’s blocks in preconfigured shapes (and what those shapes are) is game rules. There’s only so many ways you can stick four blocks together…

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ralphc2y ago

Sounds like words with friends.

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