Exactly what part of a game can be under copyright or patent?
<p>I have searched the internet and I have understood that copyright will cover the names and graphics of games while patents are for the idea/mechanics of the game.</p>
<p>My questions are:</p>
<ol>
<li>Am I right?</li>
<li>If so how can be so many trading card games/collectible card games?</li>
<li>What will be considered a &quot;mechanic&quot;? for example MTG has a specific mana system, if someone will be creating a game with same idea but will refer to it with other names such as &quot;Ember&quot; instead of &quot;Fire&quot; will it violate the patent?</li>
<li>How do I know if certain patents are applied and when they expire? For example MTG is an old game, does the company still have patents on the game mechanics?</li>
<li>If a game is patented in Country X and someone is printing the same game but with different art and names in country Y, will the one who prints in country Y could be exposed to a lawsuit? and if not will people in Country X can order from country Y the copied game?</li>
</ol>

<blockquote>
<p>copyright will cover the names and graphics of games</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The names of games are not protected by copyright, nor by patent. The names could be protected by trademark. Note that trademarks are specific to a country: what is trademarked in one country may well not be in another. Almost all countries have a way to search their trademark registries, often online. However in some countries, including the US, use of a name in commerce will confer some protection even without registration.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>What will be considered a &quot;mechanic&quot;? for example MTG have specific mana system, if someone will be creating a game with same idea but will refer to it with other names such as &quot;Ember&quot; instead of &quot;Fire&quot; will it violate the patent?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Game mechanics are not protected by copyright. This includes all the procedures and rules of the game. The text used to express those rules may be protected, but often it is not if it is the most obvious way to describe the mechanics.</p>
<p>For example, in chess there are different pieces with different moves. That could not be protected by copyright, even if chess were a new game. In bridge the winner of each trick leads to the next. That could not be protected by copyright either, even if bridge were a new game (and contact bridge is just new enough that it could in theory be under copyright still).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>How do i know if certain patents are applied and when they expire?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Most games are not protected by patent, but some are. Patents, like trademarks, are specific to a country. Each country has a way to search its list of active patents. Note that patents have a strict tiem limit, and they normally cannot be extended or renewed. I believe that the limit of a patent is currently 20 years in most countries. (It used to be 17 years in the US.)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If a game is patented in Country X and someone is printing the same game but with different art and names in country Y, will the one who print in country Y could be exposed to a lawsuit?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Unless the game is also patented in country Y, there will be no grounds for an infringement lawsuit inn Y. But importing the game into X may be patent infringement, and could expose the importer to a suit.</p>

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