tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post4271997937514670741..comments2024-03-15T11:42:21.265-04:00Comments on The Patry Copyright Blog: Scrabbling CopyrightWilliam Patryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987498082479617363noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-41868673680403219622008-08-24T06:20:00.000-04:002008-08-24T06:20:00.000-04:00What aspects of the Scrabble game are copyrighted?...What aspects of the Scrabble game are copyrighted? Board design? Game rules? Tiles? Tiles with alhabets? Tiles with alhabets and values (such as A has 1 point and X, 8 points)?<BR/>ThanksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-27217760534719906302008-02-06T16:51:00.000-05:002008-02-06T16:51:00.000-05:00Doesn't Baker v. Seldin apply here? If you can't ...Doesn't Baker v. Seldin apply here? If you can't play the game "Scrabble" without using a substantially similar board, and if the game itself is not copyrightable, then how is the board protected at all? Is the argument that there is a thin copyright, limited to the colors of the colored squares?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08015291801596750164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-26794832747874409852008-02-01T10:55:00.000-05:002008-02-01T10:55:00.000-05:00Hi Mr. Patry, I quoted you in a little article I w...Hi Mr. Patry, <BR/><BR/>I quoted you in a little article I wrote about this conflict last week. I thought that the link back would display as a comment here so you'd be sure to find out about it, but the trackback between blogger and wordpress doesn't seem to have worked out. So here's the link to the story:<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.thelegality.com/archives/11" REL="nofollow">Does Scrabble’s C&D Spell the End of Scrabulous?</A><BR/><BR/>If you have any concerns that we might have misinterpreted your point or taken you out of context, please let me know and we'll make it right.<BR/><BR/>Best, <BR/><BR/>-sgAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-83779413492292347002008-01-20T16:13:00.000-05:002008-01-20T16:13:00.000-05:00Dear X, you can always start with what would other...Dear X, you can always start with what would otherwise be an infringing derivative (or other) work and make sufficient changes so that the end product is not substantially similar.William Patryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12987498082479617363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-66753426747686980902008-01-18T21:03:00.000-05:002008-01-18T21:03:00.000-05:00Perhaps they have a better case with trademark law...Perhaps they have a better case with trademark law, where "Scrabble" is a protected brand name (they insist on officially referring to the game as "Scrabble brand crossword game") and "Scrabbulous" may be seen as confusingly similar.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17724373978066396316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-21863512688376170702008-01-18T16:26:00.000-05:002008-01-18T16:26:00.000-05:00Thanks for the clarification! But does the deriva...Thanks for the clarification! But does the derivative-works issue still bite? Even though the scope is quite narrow, unless you did the clean-room procedure and had a "scrabble virgin" write the code/instruction manual while having someone else describe the functionality, wouldn't you still be creating a derivative work from the few protected elements?<BR/><BR/>Or (so long as the colors were changed, etc) would it be fair use on the 'amount' issue--the graphical elements/text would represent a small part of the new computer program?X.Trapnelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16331820913539099727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-27976644968905797132008-01-18T16:18:00.000-05:002008-01-18T16:18:00.000-05:00Dear X, by referring to graphic element I meant bo...Dear X, by referring to graphic element I meant board games generally not Scrabble, which as you point out is devoid of visual features like those found in Candyland. So the scope of copyright is pretty narrow.William Patryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12987498082479617363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-89536490356770254162008-01-18T16:08:00.000-05:002008-01-18T16:08:00.000-05:00I'm a bit puzzled by how this works in practice--c...I'm a bit puzzled by how this works in practice--copyright adhering only to "graphic elements and textual explanations," that is. I'm not a scrabble fan, but there really isn't much in the way of 'graphic elements' unless you count the spatial arrangement of bonus squares. So that seems easy enough to get around. Similarly, nobody cares about the exact wording of the rules.<BR/><BR/>But: what about the derivative works right? Isn't that where Hasbro would win--because I seriously doubt the Scrabulous folks followed any rigorous 'clean room' procedure in order to avoid having the program authors avoid any access to the original work; couldn't the claim be that the computer program is an unauthorized derivative work, with access + substantial similarity (to the textual explanations / graphic elements) easy to demonstrate?<BR/><BR/>But if so, I don't see how just 'making some changes' avoids this danger, unless you go the weird 'clean room' route. Could you perhaps clarify?<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your time!X.Trapnelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16331820913539099727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-85017048564975462272008-01-16T17:04:00.000-05:002008-01-16T17:04:00.000-05:00My twins always win, honestly.My twins always win, honestly.William Patryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12987498082479617363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-56157349853095662542008-01-16T14:54:00.000-05:002008-01-16T14:54:00.000-05:00(I played Candyland with my twins this morning, so...(I played Candyland with my twins this morning, so traditional board games are still viable too).<BR/><BR/>Did you cheat while playing the kids? Be honest with us . . .Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-15290420171939823812008-01-16T13:15:00.000-05:002008-01-16T13:15:00.000-05:00Notably, Scabble was invented in the United States...Notably, Scabble was invented in the United States, after some abortive prior attempts, in 1948 when the Coypright Act of 1909 was in force. The 1909 Act provided for an initial 28 year period of protection followed by an option for one renewal period of 28 years. Hence, the inventors of the game had no reason to expect that they would receive any copyright protection beyond 2004.<BR/><BR/>Alas, we have this problem because Hasbro and many others got a windfall from Congress in the Copyright Act of 1976, removing most pre-1923 works from public domain.Andrew Oh-Willekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02537151821869153861noreply@blogger.com