7 Game Ideas That Were Patented So No-one Else Could Use Them



When you come up with a good idea for a game you might try and get a patent to protect it. Sometimes these patents keep rival game makers from doing anything close to the precious patented idea – but sometimes, other games get away with doing something pretty similar regardless. See for yourself in this video and subscribe for more like this from Outside Xbox every week!


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33 thoughts on “7 Game Ideas That Were Patented So No-one Else Could Use Them”

  1. Before you get too happy, US patents aren't what you think!
    It is a legal way to protect your ideas, yes, but it is up to you to take infringement cases to Court…
    No automatic win; you have to prove copying, you have to show damages…just like a product liability case.
    The other is this: patent law in the US went insane during NAFTA!
    It used to be: "Is this idea new, does it really work [functional model requirement] and why does it need to exist? What is the purpose?"
    No 'placeholder' patents, no patents for impossible machines, no patents on 'infernal machines', no patents for general concepts, no patents on laws of nature!
    Now it's: "Has it been patented in the US before?"
    If no: There is a US patent for 'Canine Entertainment system'…a stick you throw that the Dog brings back…tacos, burritos, chalupas all have patent numbers…
    If Yes: Even for things already patented, 'significant improvement' can be grounds for a new patent being granted.
    The amazing "thing" that a team worked on long and hard gets 'stolen' by someone coming along and making one tiny 'fix'.
    Twelve simple parts welded together to make the Wonderful thing? Wonderful thing is Patented.
    I make a Wonderful thing with three larger parts, and the welding is done in a mold while casting the biggest of the three parts. Wonderful thing is Patented.
    The folks reviewing patents are legal clerks, not Engineers!
    They can't tell a process patent (three parts welded in a mold vs. 12 parts welded by hand) from a patent for the Wonderful thing being made!
    Don't get me started on the 'Industry Review Board': applications are examined by a Board to see if they might infringe on 'trade secrets'.
    If the Board says "Hey, we have been doing it this way for 35 years!", then they sue you for infringement! Well, in practice they get the patent that you worked for!
    Since the Board deals in 'trade secrets', they don't have to prove their allegations, do they?
    Don't patent a Cola beverage; Coca Cola is on the Board…
    *
    Good luck, document EVERYTHING about how you created the New Thing…you win by drowning the other guy in details about all the failed attempts.
    The only thing trolls present are finished ideas; the real inventor will have reams of failed attempts on record!

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  2. The fact Jane has to say "REALLY GOOD IDEA" three times in the opening tells me Jane had a "REALLY GOOD IDEA" and is now bitter that someone took her "REALLY GOOD IDEA".

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  3. Waited So Long for you guys to mention the Sanity Meter. Loved this game, loved this feature, so sad they never used it again.

    Just gotta wait 3 more years….

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  4. Mechanic patents should be illegal but here we are in 2021 where companies can throw around money and abuse it with no consequences like seriously after watching this I feel no sympathy for Wb and Broware at all and hope they reap what what sowed

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  5. Meh, not shocked by any of this in the least. What does tick me off are the patent trolls that will purposefully patent something, never use/develop said thing/item/idea, and sit on it till someone thinks about it, and then sue them or make that entity pay an egregious amount of money to keep from getting their butts sent to the cleaners.

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  6. Man Bloober team is really trying to catch to David Cage in terms of "How deep can I stick my head up my own ass with how artsy I think I am", while failing to make anything even remotely smart or thought provoking.

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  7. Hang on a second, Fallout 4 has a VERY similar type of dialogue interface with NPC's. Including an affinity system that lets you flirt and get romantic. I'm guessing the only way they get around the patent infringement is that the dialogue options are all directly connected to a specific button rather than a wheel. HOWEVER, the way the dialogue interface shows up on screen seems to be nearly identical to Mass Effect.

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  8. This is one of the most stupid things i've ever heard. Patenting game ideas? Yes, why should we contribute to the developing of the gaming community, when we can, instead, be a bunch of greedy assholes and make our systems exclusive? Intellectual Property is pure bullshit

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  9. The nemesis system is a fitting #1 on this list – it's such a travesty to prevent that formula from being experimented with, refined and improved in all the many creative ways other people could have used it. It could have become it's own subgenre, similar to soulslikes.

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  10. Guys, I looked up the patent. The oscillating bath tub was meant to fill the same kind of role as the modern whirlpool tub, but that's not the best part. The bath tub doesn't just oscillate; it can be electrified too.

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