While board games themselves are not eligible for trademark protection from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), you can trademark the name of your game, logo, or slogan used to identify and sell it. These elements can serve as a brand identity that distinguishes your product in the marketplace.
Intellectual Property Rights for Board Game Creators
For board game designers, safeguarding your work with the right intellectual property protections is crucial. But which ones do you need — trademark, copyright, or patent? Many game developers find this process confusing, especially when launching their first game. Understanding intellectual property law is the best way to protect your work and prevent competitors from infringing on your rights.
Trademarks, for instance, are ideal for protecting the name of your game, logo, or tagline, while copyright safeguards creative elements such as game board designs or illustrations. A patent could be the way to protect innovative game mechanics or apparatuses unique to your game.
Trademarks in Board Games
While board games themselves are not eligible for direct trademark registration, the trademark application process allows creators to protect their game brand through its name, logo, and slogans. A registered trademark ensures that your branding remains exclusive and prevents others from using a confusingly similar name for their own games.
For example, the game name “MONOPOLY” is a registered trademark owned by Hasbro. This trademark protection extends to not only the name but also associated logos and branding. Without such protection, the game company would not have exclusive rights to the name or other elements that make MONOPOLY a recognized brand in the marketplace.
If you are a game designer or a game company, you’ll need to file a trademark application with the USPTO to protect your game’s identity. This includes submitting evidence of your game’s use in commerce. The USPTO may assign an examining attorney to review the application and ensure compliance with trademark law.
Copyrights and Board Game Design
As explained in our Trademarks vs. Copyrights article, a copyright protects original creative works, such as the game board designs, rulebooks, and visual components of your game. However, it’s important to clarify that copyright law does not protect the game idea or theme itself. For example, someone could create a board game or card game with a similar concept without infringing on your copyright.
Here’s a quote from the United States Copyright Office:
“Once a game has been made public, nothing in the copyright law prevents others from developing another game based on similar principles.”
However, specific elements like board design, artistic work, and written instructions may be eligible for copyright protection. These aspects of your game are critical to protecting your intellectual property and ensuring that competitors cannot replicate the unique visuals or written elements of your board game design.
Patents and Game Mechanics
A design patent, which we expand on here, can protect unique physical elements or game mechanics that are new and innovative. For instance, the distinctive gaming apparatus used in Scrabble was protected by a patent issued in the 1950s. If your game design introduces a novel mechanic or physical component, pursuing a utility patent or design patent can help prevent others from copying it.
Patents are a particularly effective way to protect the intellectual property of board game designers whose games rely on unique mechanisms or systems. Keep in mind, though, that the process for obtaining a patent is more complex and expensive compared to trademark registration or copyright protection.
Questions and Evidence for Trademark Rights
To secure trademark rights, you must prove that your game’s name or logo is being used as a source identifier in commerce. For example, when you trademark your game, you may be asked to provide evidence of sales, packaging, or marketing materials showing the name of your game in use.
The trademark application process involves responding to questions from the USPTO and conducting a trademark search to ensure your game’s name isn’t already in use. A registered trademark can only be issued once the USPTO confirms that your mark does not infringe on existing trademarks. Having a trademark attorney guide you through the process can ensure compliance and improve your chances of approval.
Why Protecting Your Board Game Matters
Securing intellectual property protection for your game is essential to its success in the game industry. By using a combination of copyright registration, trademark rights, and potential patents, you can prevent competitors from creating confusingly similar names or copying key elements of your game.
For instance, trademarking your game ensures that its name is protected under trademark law, and using the ® symbol denotes that your game’s name is a registered mark. Similarly, copyright protection prevents unauthorized reproduction of your board game design or rulebooks. Patents, meanwhile, offer exclusivity for new game mechanics that give your game a competitive edge.
Steps to Protect Your Game
To protect your board game effectively, here are the steps you should consider:
- Conduct a trademark search. Use tools like the USPTO’s trademark database to ensure your game name or logo isn’t already in use.
- File a trademark application with the USPTO to register the name, logo, or slogan of your game.
- Register your game’s visual elements and instructions with the United States Copyright Office to secure copyright protection.
- If applicable, file for a design patent or utility patent to protect innovative game mechanics or apparatuses.
Each form of protection has a specific role, and combining them provides the strongest legal safeguards.
Wrapping Up
For game creators and game companies, navigating the complexities of intellectual property law is essential to protect your game and build a strong brand. Whether you are designing a board game or card game or even developing a concept for a video game, securing trademark registration, copyright protection, and potentially a patent can help prevent your game from being copied.
A combination of protections ensures that your board game designers have the legal tools necessary to stop infringement and protect your intellectual property rights. If you need assistance, a trademark attorney can provide valuable guidance on filing applications, conducting trademark searches, and defending your rights.
