If you are still looking for a book, you might want to pick up The Monopolists : obsession, fury and the scandal behind the world’s favorite board game by Mary Pilon. It is a legal thriller describing how the company Parker Brothers (now a brand of Hasbro) consolidated IP rights on the Monopoly game. Whereas Charles Darrow claimed that he ‘invented’ Monopoly in the 1930’s, the game would have been derived from The Landlord’s Game, patented in 1904 by Lizzie Magie. Parker Brothers bought patent rights from Lizzie Magie in 1935 and bought copyright from Charles Darrow.
All IP lawyers know that an ‘idea’ that could make board games and electronic games unique and attractive can in principle not be monopolised.
However:
- copyright and design right can apply to graphic elements – copycats might however interchange these features);
- the basic rules of the game as such will in principle not have IP protection, and the case where there is a specific invention that can be patented might be rare;
- the name of the game can be trademarked – but a similar game can be put on the market with a different brand).
Even though IP protection has indeed its challenges, combining different layers of IP and an aggressive enforcement can still help to protect your ‘unique’ game.
We wish you a happy holiday period ! Good luck rolling the dice and do not go to prison.
