![]() ![]() The “Konami” case ( Case T 0928/03) is a good example of a video game patent granted because the invention provided for a further technical effect beyond the interaction between program and computer, and which related to more than the game rules. Unless, the Innersloth developers meant something more specific than the rules of Among Us when referring to patenting the “Among Us mechanics”, this exclusion would apply. This is challenging when it comes to video games which, by their nature, are simply computer programs running on computers.Ī further difficulty for Innersloth is that game rules are expressly excluded from patentability, again by Article 52(2)(c) of the European Patent Convention. In other words, a patent will only be granted for inventions which have some additional technical effect that goes beyond the usual, expected result of a computer program operating on a computer (or console). Therefore, in order to obtain a patent for any computer program (or video game), a specific further technical effect is required beyond the technical interaction between program (software) and computer (hardware). Well, computer programs are specifically excluded from patentability by Article 52(2)(c) of the European Patent Convention. Video game patents are notoriously difficult to obtain, both in the US, where Innersloth would most likely have first filed for a patent, and in the UK and Europe, which is the focus of this article. This statement implies that Innersloth could have obtained a patent to prevent Epic Games from releasing its own Imposters game mode had it wished to do so, but that is probably not true. In a tweet last week, one of the Innersloth developers claimed that they “didn’t patent the Among Us mechanics” because that doesn’t “lead to a healthy game industry”. The two key intellectual property rights that might have assisted Innersloth are patents and copyright, but neither are likely to apply to protect the Among Us game mechanics. ![]() However, has Epic Games actually done anything wrong by implementing the Among Us game concept into Fortnite? Innersloth’s developers have taken to Twitter to make clear that Fortnite Impostors is not a collaboration between Innersloth and Epic Games, and to express their disappointment about that. If you’re at all interested in the video games industry and haven’t been living under a rock for the past year, you’ll know that the game mode being described is conceptually very similar to last year’s viral hit game, Among Us, which was developed by the small indie games studio Innersloth (they have less than ten employees and had only four when developing Among Us). Players must try to work out who the two impostors are and vote them off, while the impostors try to deceive the others and complete their takeover without being voted off by the group. It involves ten players: eight of which are aiming to maintain the “Bridge” location by completing various “assignments” and two of which are “impostors” aiming to overtake it. What is the legal position?Įpic Games has introduced a new game mode within its hugely popular game Fortnite, called “Fortnite Impostors”. Impostor! Epic Games releases ‘Among Us’ game mode in Fortnite.
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