Playing the Patent Game: Protecting Video Game Mechanics as Intellectual Property
Lucy Hanson Nintendo Co. Ltd., Japanese owner of colossal video game franchise Pokémon, filed suit in 2024 against independent developer Pocketpair, Inc. for alleged patent infringement of Pokémon game mechanics. In doing so, Nintendo once again drew attention to the thirty-year controversy regarding the patentability of video games. Although developers continue to assert their right to benefit from their own software innovations, critics attack game mechanic patents for stifling gaming innovation because of their broadness. The international nature of game development means both American and Japanese patent laws contribute to molding this contentious environment for software patents. This Article discusses...
BLOG POST: Controller in the Courtroom: The Struggle of Collegiate ESports Under the Athletic Banner*
*This writing is a blog post. It is not a published IPTF Journal Article. Noah DeRossi-Goldberg I. Working Without a Basic Understanding A. The Misstep of Navarro Decisions about Collegiate Esports are made without judges ever taking the time to pick up a controller.[1] A recent opinion by a Florida District Court has created a roadblock for any college seeking to establish a competitive, fully funded Esports program within their athletics department.[2] The Florida Institute of Technology (“FIT”) disbanded its men’s rowing team to comply with Title IX’s mandate that men’s and women’s sports receive equal funding.[3] In determining...
Interpreting Chamberlain’s “Reasonable Relation” Between Access and Infringement in the Digital Mill
Zoe Argento The nature of the “reasonable relation” test goes to the heart of the DMCA and its impact on innovation. If the “reasonable relation” between access and infringement is too broad, the DMCA will stifle many ideas which build on protected works, because the public will be prevented from accessing works for the purpose of creating improved versions and interoperable products. Innovation depends in large measure upon building on the works of others. As Sir Isaac Newton famously said, “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood upon the shoulders of giants.” On the...