A Comparative Study of the Legal Protection of Video Games; with emphasis on Iranian and US laws

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor of Faculty of Law, Intellectual Property Law Group, University of Qom, Qom, Iran

2 MSc., Faculty of Law, University of Qom, Qom, Iran

Abstract

Video games are one of the modern embodiments of entertainment that their legal protection is usually carried out through means of copyright; this course of action however, cannot be considered flawless as it includes shortcomings that emanate from the very nature of this form of protection; as a result, defining a pervasive frame of protection for these intellectual phenomena must be sought through means of industrial property protection, including patents, industrial designs and trademark. In this work, by resorting to comparative analysis of United States and Iran’s legal systems, we concluded that, as opposed to current methods, effective protection of video games needs thorough exploitation of legal capacities in both branches of intellectual property law. Moreover, reserving some technical parts of video games as trade secrets is another possibility that can be very effective, provided that the exploitation of the game is not against confidentiality of those parts.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. Ahmad, T. & Dan, S. (2012). “Comparative Analysis of Copyright Protection of Databases: The Path to Follow”, J INTELLEC PROP RIGHTS, Vol. 17, pp. 111-121.

    Bagheri, S. K., Tavakoli-Moghaddam, M., Shavvalpour, S., & Azizi Moradpour, H. (2011). “Protection of Software Inventions in Iran”, Jouranl of Science and Technology Policy (JSTP), Issue (2), pp. 13-34. (in Persian)

    Carpenter, M. & Hetcher, S. (2014). “Function over Form: Bringing the Fixation Requirement into the Modern Era”, Fordham L. Rev., Vol. 82, pp. 2221-2271.

    Çela, M. (2015). “The importance of Trademarks and a review of empirical studies”, European Journal of Sustainable Development, 4, pp. 125-134.

    Ghabooli Dorafshan, S. M.M. & Mohseni, S. (2010). “Legal Study on the Legal Protection of the Industrial Design (The Comparative Study of the Background and Concept)”, J Knowledge & Development, Vol. 17, Issue 32, pp. 27-66. (in Persian)

    González, H. C. H. (2019). “Protection of Video Game Mechanics through the Patentability of Software”, La Revista La Propiedad Inmaterial, Vol. 27, pp. 69-93.

    Grosheide, F. W., et al. (2014) “Intellectual Property Protection for Video Games - a View From the European Union.” Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology, Vol. 9, pp. 1-13. Habiba, S. & Hoseinzaade, M. (2013). “Investigating the Process of Legal Protection of Computer Games in the intellectual property system”, Legal Research Journal, Issue 93, pp. 37-68. (in Persian)

    Habiba, Saeed; Hosseinzadeh, Majid (2014) (2014). “A Comparative Analysis of the Legal Regime of Multimedia Works”, The Journal of Comparative Law, Vol. 10, pp. 3-26. (in Persian)

    1. McKenna, P. (1983). “Copyrightability of Video Games: Stern and Atari”, Loy. U. Chi. L. J. 391, Vol. 14, pp. 391-413.

    Kitchin, R. & Thrift, N. (2009). International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, Amsterdam, Elsevier.

    Kent, Steven. (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games: from Pong to Pokemon and beyond ... the story behind the craze that touched our lives and changed the world, New York, Crown.

    Menell, P. S., Lemley, M. A., Merges, R. P., & Balganesh, Sh. (2020). Intellectual Property in the New Technological Age: 2020 - Chapters 1 and 2 (July 11, 2020). Stanford Public Law Working Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3648735 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3648735. Accessed on 26 November 2020.

    Mirshamsi, M., Hormozi, K., & Afrasiab, M. (2017). “Patent Rights and egal Protection of New Medical Application”, MEDICAL LAW, Vol. 41, pp. 165-180. (in Persian)

    Mohseni, S. & Qabuli Dorafshan, S. (2016). “Examining The Legal Protection Of Idea (Comparative Study On The Legal Systems Of Iran And France)”, Law Quarterly, 46(1), pp. 117-137. (in Persian)

    Morgulova, O. (2017). Non-traditional trademarks, Uppsala Universitet, Master Programme in Intellectual Property Law, Master’s Thesis 30 ECTS.

    Oman, R. (2018). “Computer Software as Copyrightable Subject Matter: Oracle V. Google, Legislative Intent, and the Scope of Rights in Digital Works”, Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, Vol. 31, pp. 639-651.

    Ramos, A., Rodríguez, A., López, L., Abrams, S., & Meng, T. (2013). “The Legal Status of Video Games: Comparative Analysis in National Approaches”, WIPO.

    Boyd, G., Payne, B., & F. Kane, S. (2018). Video Game Law: Everything You Need to Know about Legal and Business Issues in the Game Industry, Cleveland, Ohio, CRC Press.

    Sadeghi, M. & Hamidi-Aval, A.R. (1394). “Patentable Software Supporting Features”, Comparative Law Research, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 73-96.

    Sadeghi-Neshat, A. (2010). Rights of Computer Software Creators, 2nd printing, Tehran, Mizan Publications. (in Persian)

    Smith, K. (2015) . “The etymology of "video game"”, Available at http://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-etymology-of-term-video-game.html?m=1,%20Accessed%20on%201%20July%202020. Accessed on 20 July 2020.

    Stamatoudi, I. (2001). Copyright and Multimedia Products: A Comparative Analysis, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

    Stigler, R. (2014). “Ooey GUI: The Messy Protection of Graphical User Interfaces”, Nw. J. Tech. & Intell. Prop., Vol. 12, pp. 215-251.

    Verhoeven, D., Bakker, J., & Veugelers, R. (2016). “Measuring Technological Novelty With Patent-Based Indicators”, Research Policy, Vol. 45, pp. 707-723.

     

Private Law
Volume 18, Issue 1
Spring & Summer
April 2021
Pages 71-94

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics