![]() However, if the product represents an idea, and you copy only that idea, your attorney may not recommend going to court. This is commonly so if we copy the product itself (think about IP things like character, graphics, explicit copy of the features and game play). When we see a product and copy it, there is legal grounds for a lawsuit. An invention, as defined in this article, is “ is the culmination of the innovation part of the journey“. Ideas cannot be treated as intellectual property but inventions can. So says IPwatchdog in Protecting an Idea: Can Ideas Be Patented or Protected? The difference is what an idea is and an invention is. If not, creators are likely not the only ones in the world who had ever thought about the same ideas. ![]() At some point though, great ideas – even original sounding ones – have drawn reference and inspiration from somewhere else. We can expand on more blatant observations like Huawei stealing from Cisco (and now they sue Verizon over alleged patent violations), Battlestar Galactica stealing from Star Wars, and Vanilla Ice stealing from Queen and David Bowie. ![]() This however seems to edge out the question about ethics and morality in copying ideas. In other words, no one is really complaining (maybe there are, but we generally don’t care). However the technology that both companies bring to world found their own audiences, and have delivered tremendous value. At the same time, Jobs had publicly accused Microsoft from ripping off the Mac. Apple certainly allegedly copied several ideas to incorporate into their products (see Xerox). When talking about innovation, the late Steve Jobs infamously ascribed the quote to the late Pablo Picasso. I aim to differentiate copying ideas and copying inventions, or in our case, copying a game product. Nonetheless, here are my thoughts around the idea about copying ideas. I recommend that you look up a trained lawyer in intellectual property and copyright infringement to have a much better understanding. How many games have we seen that are too similar with something else that we have seen before? Should game developers only make original games, or do they risk copying an idea? Besides, isn’t the objective to make great products that people enjoy nonetheless? When we run out of game development ideas, there is tendency to reference successful games that we love.
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