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Message: <blockquote data-quote="slaughterj" data-source="post: 3995175" data-attributes="member: 5341">Whether something is patentable and whether someone will adopt and use it are two separate considerations.Also, to be patentable does not mean "better", it just means "different" than what existed before.But regardless, games, game mechanics, game rules, or whatever other terms are used may be patentable, including new, useful, and non-obvious inventions in the field of RPGs, short of showing statutory or case law to the contrary.  It may be that most RPG game designers haven't bothered to patent their inventions, since (1) patents are expensive and most game companies are not rich, (2) the 800 lb gorilla of the day TSR apparently sent out plenty of threatening letters without needing a patent, so others might not have thought it necessary, (3) since RPGs themselves were invented and not patented, many patents one could get on novel game mechanics probably would have been fairly narrow in scope and not worth pursuing (see #1 again), (4) the new game mechanics may have been considered so incremental in design as to not rise to the level of being thought of as new, useful, and non-obvious inventions by their inventors, (5) many people probably didn't even think about getting patents, and (6) a narrow RPG patent may not recoup the costs associated with pursuing it, making it less appealing for one to be sought/obtained (e.g., there are probably limited opportunities to make more money from a patent than its costs to get because people can just design other game mechanics, avoiding (a) any increased sales because others were excluded due to the patent or (b) paying license fees).  In light of the foregoing, especially the cost issues (compared with the value of getting a patent in this area) and the inability to get a broad patent on RPGs in general, it is understandable that there are no patents in this subject area, but that does not mean there couldn't be.</blockquote>

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