Patent is an exclusive legal right granted to the owner of an invention to exclude others from replicating, using, and selling their invention for a limited period.

 

In the context of a video game, what consumers would usually focus on are the user and visual experiences of a video game, but what lies behind these experiences are thousands of codes and mechanics. Often, these mechanics are slightly modified mechanics which borrow heavily from its predecessors, but at times, there may be mechanics that are newly invented. In the developers’ eyes, these are the products of hard work and time, but in someone else’s eyes, these could be dozens of potential opportunities for infringement. Therefore, to prevent infringement by other people, it is advisable to file a patent to protect your inventions.

 

Patenting a mechanic implemented in a game is not exactly a new thing. For instance, the Japanese video game giant Bandai Namco used to own a patent that covers “Auxiliary Games”. To put it simply, it is a mini-game that is incorporated in the game loading screen where players can play the mini-game to pass time instead of having to wait blindly for the loading time to pass. Namco famously held this patent for a period of 20 years where it recently expired in 2015. Prior to its expiration, no game developers were allowed to create anything similar to this mechanic without permission from Namco.

 

More recently, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has been granted a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patent is described as “a method for influencing a gaming word of a video game” and SIE credited a famous video game creator, Hideo Kojima as its inventor. The description of this patent is strikingly similar to a mechanic found in a video game named “Death Stranding”, which was launched and developed by Hideo Kojima in 2019. Basically, the game features a collaborative element where players could provide help to other players to traverse the area by building a bridge or leaving a ladder without having to be in the same world. Again, this would mean that other developers will be prohibited to implement the said mechanic in their video game unless SIE permits them to do so.

 

As evident from the above, innovation is crucial to a business’ success. However, it would serve no use to your organization if it were not protected by law, as anyone could claim ownership over your invention.