RPG Patents?

[Morrus]

From my understanding, the guy I'm speaking of was told by his lawyers that they'd need to sue a hundred or more small business sites using the mechanism first, before attempting to sue a big company such as Amazon for this. Having a body of 100+ successful law suits make it more likely to succeed in a suit versus a large company. I'm sure eventually he will be doing exactly that. As said, he's only successfully sued 20 or so companies, so he's got a few years before he attempts to sue any of the large companies that use what he patented.

What a nasty piece of work. I hope he picks the wrong target and gets countersued back into the stone age.

 

[gamerprinter]

What a nasty piece of work. I hope he picks the wrong target and gets countersued back into the stone age.

I completely agree with you. As said, the guy is the father of a friend of mine, and not someone I approve of. I was a naysayer, when I heard he applied for the patent, and in shock when I heard he'd gotten it approved. I felt sick hearing that he'd actually pursued this course of action.

 

[Umbran]

I was a naysayer, when I heard he applied for the patent, and in shock when I heard he'd gotten it approved.

That does not agree with what google says about the patent: http://www.google.com/patents/us20140038722

The application was made on August 6, 2012.
The application was private to the patent office, as usual, for 18 months.
The application was then published in February, 2014. But that doesn't mean it was granted - it simply establishes precedent.

It is currently listed with a publication type "Application". If the patent had been granted, it would be listed with type, "Grant" (see here for an example of one that has been granted: http://www.google.com/patents/US5370566)

So, you may have been misinformed.

 

[Bedrockgames]

That does not agree with what google says about the patent: http://www.google.com/patents/us20140038722

The application was made on August 6, 2012.
The application was private to the patent office, as usual, for 18 months.
The application was then published in February, 2014. But that doesn't mean it was granted - it simply establishes precedent.

It is currently listed with a publication type "Application". If the patent had been granted, it would be listed with type, "Grant" (see here for an example of one that has been granted: http://www.google.com/patents/US5370566)

So, you may have been misinformed.

I believe Gameprinter is talking about another person who he knows personally that got a patent for a game in 2008, not this patent for the universal horizen rpg.

as a publisher this move does concern me. If only because he could be opening a door that has bad implications for the hobby of others follow suit. I am also worried because it is unclear wjat he is patenting exactly.

 

[herrozerro]

I believe Gameprinter is talking about another person who he knows personally that got a patent for a game in 2008, not this patent for the universal horizen rpg.

as a publisher this move does concern me. If only because he could be opening a door that has bad implications for the hobby of others follow suit. I am also worried because it is unclear wjat he is patenting exactly.

Another concern is if the patent gets passed, it could potentially be a gold mine if he gets bought out or sells it to a bigger company.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Another concern is if the patent gets passed, it could potentially be a gold mine if he gets bought out or sells it to a bigger company.

And it is so unclear what the patent covers at the moment. But no one really patents rpg mechanics, so the move is very unusual and his stated reason is to avoid the mistakes of Gygax, so it just feels like the guy isn't in touch with the culture surrounding the industry at all. Lots of people create clever mechanics but don't feel the need to patent them.

 

[gamerprinter]

That does not agree with what google says about the patent: http://www.google.com/patents/us20140038722

The application was made on August 6, 2012.
The application was private to the patent office, as usual, for 18 months.
The application was then published in February, 2014. But that doesn't mean it was granted - it simply establishes precedent.

It is currently listed with a publication type "Application". If the patent had been granted, it would be listed with type, "Grant" (see here for an example of one that has been granted: http://www.google.com/patents/US5370566)

So, you may have been misinformed.

Yeah, sorry for the misunderstanding, my patent discussion has nothing to do with the RPG patent issue of the OP. I was simply pointing out an instance where a patent was granted for a practice that had been in use by other companies for 15+ years, yet still got approved. I was not referring to the Universal Horizon RPG - which aside from this thread, I know nothing about.

@Bedrockgames - it wasn't for a game, rather it was for an internet search tool function commonly used by many websites.

 

[Umbran]

Yeah, sorry for the misunderstanding, my patent discussion has nothing to do with the RPG patent issue of the OP. I was simply pointing out an instance where a patent was granted for a practice that had been in use by other companies for 15+ years, yet still got approved.

Oh, I see what I missed now. The mistake was all mine. My apologies!

 

[mudbunny]

Just a quick note from an actual (Canadian) patent examiner. The scope of what they are asking for is defined by the claims, and only the claims. As such, the way that I* read the claims is that it is directed towards a computer game or using a piece of computer software to translate a character's stats from one system to another. You can see this in claim 1, where it uses the term " non-transitory memory". Now, this term is not explicitly defined in the claims, nor is it defined in the description. In order to determine what is commonly meant by that, you use something like Google. And doing so reveals that " non-transitory memory" always is used referring to computer media of one sort or another. It appears to be using that in a way to indicate that it is stored somewhere that is not RAM. Claims 2 through 10 are dependent upon claim 1, so they also get this limitation. Claims 11-19 and 20 are also directed towards an apparatus of some sort (11-19) and a computer program (claim 20).

* I examine applications in the field of organic chemistry, so I may be reading this wrong.

 

[Zadmar]

As such, the way that I* read the claims is that it is directed towards a computer game or using a piece of computer software to translate a character's stats from one system to another.

Even then, it could still apply to tools like my Pathfinder to Savage Worlds converter (depending on whether or not the browser cache is considered "non-transitory memory") - and I'm certainly not the only person to develop such tools.