Author: Robert Hyatt
Date: 10:58:01 01/08/04
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On January 08, 2004 at 12:37:18, Ed Trice wrote: >Hello Dr. Hyatt, > >> >>Your _game_ is somewhat different than normal chess, although I don't believe >>it meets the criteria for "no prior-existing art" in patent law. I am talking >>about _playing_ your game, not building a chess board and pieces for your game >>and selling that. Patent law does not go there. > >A ha! > >You think I am trying to control who plays the game? > >No no no, not at all! > >You can play it all you want! > >1. You can't sell it. >2. You can't give it away. > >Sure you can make your own pieces and set them down on an 80 square board, that >is not what is being claimed as something prohibitive. > >Playing the game is not an infringement. > >Making a program is. There I am absolutely, 100% sure, you are wrong. You can _not_ patent something from that perspective. It was already done for the music transposition algorithm. It was kicked out by the courts. you can patent a "thing". You can not patent a "subject". IE you can not patent an "airplane". You can patent a _specific_ design, with two wings, engine in the front, rudder/elevator in the rear. Along comes someone with two wings but elevator in the front and they patent that. Just try to patent "a machine that flies" to see what I mean. That's why you have to supply all the ancillary stuff, such as drawings, specifications, details about operation, etc. I could never (probably) build a chess set for your game and sell it. But I can certainly write a program that plays the game, because you have made the rules _public_. And my program that plays the game is mine to sell or give away. Just as surely as I can write a program that _designs_ airplanes, and sell it, even though the aircraft designs are already patented. Someone is giving you _bad_ advice when they tell you that you can prevent someone from writing a program to play a game you have patented. > >Now I know what you are going to say: "How is writing a program to play the game >different from any other representation?" > >We sell a Gothic Chess program. We sell boards and pieces. you can sell a chess program. You can copyright one. But you can't prevent me from writing one myself. If you believe so, you are in for a lot of grief later when you spend a fortune and lose when you challenge someone. My chess program is copyrighted, because I wrote it. You can't take it and use it as you want without my permission. But you _can_ write one of your own. BTW you can _not_ patent a computer program. The only exception that has been granted was when the program was a hard-wired design where the chip itself (containing the "program) was therefore patentable. > >I think that covers it, in essence.
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