WotC Strikes Again: Patents the CSG

[MerricB]

I'm pretty sure the item constructed has to be constructed out of planar components.

One of the ways to get a patent in an area where there's a lot of prior work is to make your patent very, very specific. Perhaps this is what they are doing?

It's worth remembering that patents take time to be granted - it was some years after Magic made its debut that the patent finally went through, though it was applied for much earlier.

Five years it took for Wizards to get their patent on this; 2002 was when they applied; 2004 is when Pirates of the Spanish Main came out from WizKids.

Cheers!

 

[Steel_Wind]

Five years it took for Wizards to get their patent on this; 2002 was when they applied; 2004 is when Pirates of the Spanish Main came out from WizKids.

Cheers!

I'm guessing that PotSM was not dreamed up and released three months later. It probably had a year or three of development behind it as well.

Which of those chickens and eggs came first is unclear. We certainly know which got a patent and which did not, however.

 

[kenobi65]

Weren't there quasi-ccgs based on sports and/or using baseball cards to play a game in the past? (someone older than me should be able to know what I'm talking about I think... my memory is hazy on this topic)

You may be thinking of games like "Strat-o-Matic Baseball", which Richard Garfield cited as an indirect inspiration for the design of Magic: the Gathering. While you do construct your team's lineup from individual player cards in games like that, the cards themselves are not randomized for sale (i.e., you typically buy an entire set -- every card for a season -- at once).

 

[MerricB]

I'm guessing that PotSM was not dreamed up and released three months later. It probably had a year or three of development behind it as well.

Which of those chickens and eggs came first is unclear. We certainly know which got a patent and which did not, however.

The patent doesn't seem to cover PotSM, interestingly.

Cheers!

 

[Mark CMG]

Those PotSM models (CSG Transformers, et al) always reminded me of those wooden dinosaur skeleton models -

http://www.allyourhobbies.com/dinosaur-projects-wood-model-kits.htm

 

[Huw]

Anyone remember Dragon Dice, specifically the Magestorm expansion? TSR had a patent on the d4 in it, which was basically an elongated tetrahedron. When you threw it, there would actually be a top face, rather than a corner, to read. Pretty cool, but I don't know if it was worth patenting.

 

[Ranger REG]

Pretty cool, but I don't know if it was worth patenting.

Maybe you should apply for a job at the USPTO.

 

[CharlesRyan]

Here are a few things to keep in mind before judging WotC's motives:

• WotC claims that their application is based on a game they developed--but didn't bring to market--back in 2002. I can vouch for that--l laid eyes on the game. And I'm not the only one--WotC unveiled the game to distributors at their annual conference before cancelling it later in the year.
• As others have pointed out, the patent application was filed in 2002--before PotSM came out, and many years before WizKids had announced Star Wars or WotC had announced Transformers.
• The timing of the awarding of the patent isn't in WotC's hands. If you read Loren's comments on ICv2, it appears WotC learned of the award last month. The timing of the award, and WotC's announcement, near the release of SWPM and Transformers is, I think, purely coincidental.
• WotC already holds a patent for TCGs. Back when that was awarded, in 1995 or thereabouts, there was a lot of concern in the industry that they were going to shut everyone else down. They didn't.

[An aside: Some people are questioning the validity of the patent because of previous games that might be considered "constructible battle games." Don't get hung up on that term (which doesn't even appear in the patent). WotC's patent is much narrower, covering games that much more closely resemble the PotSM/SWPM/Transformers model. It's narrow enough that it might not even cover PotSM.]

Will WotC use this to shut down its competition? Maybe, but I'm guessing that would kill the category, which doesn't do anyone any good. More likely, they'll see it as a barrier to entry, which will restrict the number of players in the category and let WotC manage it better. In fact, if this indicates anything at all, it's that WotC is considering getting more seriously into the category--which should be a good thing for fans of this sort of game!

 

[Huw]

Maybe you should apply for a job at the USPTO.

Nah, wouldn't want the pay cut. Which is the heart of the problem really. Overpaid corporate lawyers swamp underpaid bureaucrats with paperwork until said bureaucrats just say "okay, whatever, we'll file it!" (Disclaimer: I have two patents to my name. But they're both quite funky.)

I used to work as a patent translator. You get an incredible amount of crap through any patent office. German car manufacturers are notorious for it. They'll patent a single screw of a particular pitch and length just to prevent anyone else making spare parts. Then there are the crackpots, who'll try and a patent perpetual motion machines (despite rules saying "don't try claiming this") and weasels who'll use 83 claims to patent what is essentially a box. I've got very good at speed-reading legalese in four languages.

Patenting game mechanics is commonplace. There are even patents for chess pieces, despite prior art dating back centuries for some variants.

 

[RFisher]

Just as importantly, Wizkids was slated to release a new CSG, the Star Wars Pocket Model CSG next month in June - at more or less the same time as WotC is due to roll out the Transformers CSG by the end of next week.

Given that the Star Wars Pocket Model game competes not only with an existing Star Wars ship miniatures game from WotC, but will also compete against the Transfromers CSG

There's some irony in the fact that Hasbro will be selling a Star Wars miniatures line & a Transformers CSG that will both be competing with WizKids' Star Wars CSG, while Hasbro also sells Star Wars Transformers.

Of course, I wish property owners wouldn't do exclusive licenses & just let people slog it out in the market. (Well, I really wish you didn't need licenses & people were free to draw inspiration from any source & slog it out in the market. But I'm willing to compromise.)

Those PotSM models (CSG Transformers, et al) always reminded me of those wooden dinosaur skeleton models

My son had some animal models that were exactly (as far as I could tell) like the WizKids CSGs. (Well, the models, not game.) Came as little plastic playing-card-sized cards even. I could've sworn it was before PotSM was released.