UK Copyright Law, in verse

U.S. Copyright Code | U.S. Patent Code | U.S. Trademark Code | Canadian Copyright Code

These verses contain
Some copyright Acts
The UK's, I say
As a matter of fact

Here in old England
It's not written plain -
Many acts and schedules
Are copyright's claim

For instance, fathom,
If you think you can:
A whole schedule just on
The book Peter Pan

To make up for this
They did something better:
"Design" laws are not simply
Lumped in together

Copyrights and patents
Are addressed separately;
Separate from designs,
Most sensibly

Anyhoo, please note
These verses are crude,
Reading the original's
Legally prude

It starts with an act
From one nine eight eight
On copyrights and patents
And designs, but just wait

Further amendments,
Provisions and rights
Are after appended,
Like day follows night

I'll cover just copyright;
Some other time
I'll get to the rights
On patents and design

Part 1

Chapter I

1

Copyright subsists
In writing, plays, movies,
Publishing, art, broadcasts,
And music; that's groovy

2

Two types of rights:
Moral and actions
Will soon be described
In following sections

3

You copyright books
And programs, all sized
Written or recorded
Even unauthorized

3A

Databases, too,
By which they mean lists
Of things, are also
In this here gist

4

Art includes maps
And casts of all sorts
Buildings and sketches
So on and so forth

5A

Sounds are copyrit
By these types of laws,
But only originals
It says in a clause

5B

Movies are this section's
Major concern
The soundtrack's included
Or so we do learn

6

Broadcasts are just that
This section's explaining
And no matter whether
It's sunny or raining

6A

If coming from satellite
The broadcast's considered
As coming from where it's
Being transmittered

8

Apart from the contents,
Copyright (too)
Is in how it's published:
Like one book, or two

9

Somehow the singers
Or actors are never
The copyright holders;
They must not be clever

10

More than one author
Can share in the rights
Which sometimes can lead to
Big author fist fights

11

Along with the "author"
There's also the "owner"
Which means your employer
Unless you're a loner

12

Digital works' rights
Last fifty years,
For others it's death
Plus seventy, I fears

13A

Music is locked for
Years making fifty
That's better, but fifteen
Sound even more nifty

13B

Movies are death plus
Seventy years;
Movies sell longer than
Music? How queers

14

Broadcasts are righted
For fifty years, too
Like live streaming webcams
Within London's zoo

15

Published arrangements
Are righted for shorter
Not half a century,
Only a quarter

15A

The country of origin
For works is considered
Graciously and fairly
So don't feel embittered

Chapter II

16

Various activities,
Timid or bolder,
Are exclusive to only
The copyright holder

17

You can't sculpt a painting
You can't paint a statue
Unless you want copy
Policemen to get you

18

If copies were made
But never were sold
You can't sell them even if
You scrape off the mold

18A

Apparently libraries
Cannot be erected
Since lending and renting
Are herein rejected

19

Performing or showing
Is also forbidden
Original works must be
Totally hidden

20

They all must be locked up
So no one can see 'em
And stuck in a basement
Or copy museum

21

Adapting a work
Means a translation
Or changing to graphic
Representation

22

Importing copies
Of dubious legality
Is also a no-no
Regardless of quality

23

Simple possession
Is also law-breaking
You'll be arrested
For what you are taking

24

If you merely look at
A copy machine
Or touch a computer
They'll cut out your spleen

25

In fact, if anyone,
Anywhere violates
Anything, you're guilty
Too, you ingrate

26

We're way past ridiculous
With what's written here
Suffice to say, everyone
Should shudder with fear

27

And this section tells us
That guilt's a presumption,
If it looks like a copy
It is by assumption

--

Whew! Now I'm ready
To go kill myself
First, I will burn all
The books on my shelf

Let's see if somehow
The following sections
Can offer some sort of
Free speech protection

Chapter III

28

So what is permitted
For copyright things?
The answer the sections
In this chapter brings

28A

Transitory copies
Made by machine
Are not an infringement
'Cause they're never seen

29

Copying for research
Is never infringement
When juxtaposed with
Proper acknowledgment

30

Also for reporting
And even review
Copying's permitted
In this section's view

31

Except for deliberately
Using song parts
It's fair if you briefly
Include stuff in art

31A

Copying items
For use by the blind
Is fair, if they can't use
The regular kind

31B

Exception, of course,
For musical works
And databases, also
Is one of the quirks

31C

For many blind people,
Works intermediate
May also be made
If this proves expedient

31D

But only if no other
License exists
For which rights to copy
For blind guys insists

31E

The State Secretary
Can decide that these laws
Were all a mistake
After giving it pause

31F

This section only
Clarifies phrases
Occurring in 31's
Sections, all places

32

Copying also
In most circumstances
Is ok, if somehow
Learning enhances

33

Also for textbooks
Copying's nice
When done every five years
And no more than twice

34

Schools perform plays
This says, but it's prudent
To not invite parents
Or siblings, just students

35

If no one is selling
Broadcasts for teaching,
Recording for lectures
Is fine, this is preaching

36

On March 31st
Xerox 1 percent
Of a book; the next day
You can do it again
(A strange reading, verily,
And not what they meant)

36A

Schools lend books,
Is what's written here
Exactly to whom
Is not made very clear

37

The next sections talk about
Hottie librarians
Those short skirted, dimple cheeked
Disciplinarians

38

Librarians copy
For you any article,
Only one copy for
Each periodical

39

And, quite bizarrely,
Only for money
Covering, at least,
The cost of copy

40

Hottie librarians
Should needlessly pester
Anyone who is a
Copy requester

40A

Here's the exemption
For libraries to lend
Without which all libraries
Would come to an end

41

A library may copy
For another, no stress,
Unless knowing author's
Name and address

42

Hottie librarians
Copy for backups
Between drinking coffee
And putting on makeup

43

Also they give you
What you really need
But first make you pay
And then make you plead

44

Sometimes a copy
Is needed for export
It's ok to copy for
Reasons of this sort

44A

I love this: "Regulations
Under this section
Can be for any purpose
Or any provision"

45

Copying by government
Anywhere, anytime,
Is retroactively
Considered just fine

46

Also if done for
A public commission
Copying is legal
Without no permission

47

Anything open
For public inspection
Can also be copied
And has no protection

48

If created specifically
For King or for Queen
They can replay it
Or publish it, it seems

49

All public records
Are copyable, you know
Like what I wrote
Two sections ago

50

Whenever the gov wants
To copy today
They just make an act
And then it's ok

50A

Software users
Can back up their disks
Regardless of what
EUI clause exists

50B

You also can do any
Decompilation
Whenever you have need
For inter-operation

50BA

OK.....
Apparently herein
It says you can see
A program as it runs
On your CRT

50C

Go fix your software,
If given permission,
In order to use it,
A sensible decision

50D

If you have the right
To access a database
Then you have the right
To access the database
(Don't ask me, I'm only
Visiting this place)

51

I had a rough time
Parsing this section,
It seems design rights
Give little protection

52

"An order shall be made
By statutory instrument
And subject to annulment
By House of Parliament." ???

53

Hoowee, speaking of
Designs and such stuff
The design of these sections
Is excessively rough

54

Typefaces are protected
Except you can use them
Or type, read, or publish
Or generally abuse them

55

Whatever, copyright
Last twenty five years
Although what it does
Is not very clear

56

If you are allowed
And send stuff by email
Delete all your copies
If you're male or female

57

Anonymous works by
The probably demised,
For seventy years
Are now authorized

58

Like others, this section
Says nothing new:
The owner can tell you
What you may do

59

You can read excerpts
And even record them
For later broadcasting
If you can afford them

60

Abstracts of papers
May be reproduced
Like "Habits of Mating
In Manchester Moose"

61

Folk music singing,
If all give permission,
Can be recorded
For archive addition

(Again, since permission
Is needed for this,
I can't see why sections
Like this one exist)

62

Section 17
Is now overturned:
Take photos or paint
Any building, we learn,
Or camcord a sculpture
That you can discern

63

All sorts of copies
For advertising
The sale of an item
Are fine improvising

64

If not now the owner,
The original creator
Can reuse material
For making works later

65

If a building falls down
It was probably defective
Rebuilding it's dumb
And I'm not a detective

66

Guys in the Parliament
Broadcast stuff,
After they think about
What fee's enough

66A

For any anonymous
Films that are old
Go copy away,
You may be so bold

67

If you have a club with
A righteous intention
You can play music
Without intervention

68

When broadcast is authorized
Some rights are suspended
But only for twenty eight
Days, then they're ended

69

BBC radio
Or television
Can copy for "control"
Or "supervision"

70

Time-shifting doodads
For watching shows later
Are perfectly legal
And couldn't be straighter

71

Taking a picture of
The telly is fine
For personal use
Any day, any time

72

I've read through this section
And don't understand it
Something about broadcasts
For free without music

73

Cable transmission
Is fine when it is
And not when it isn't
Is what this sec says

73A

They pay for each area
To which they transmit
Negotiating licenses
For which they remit

74

Copies of programs
For the deaf, when sub-titled,
Let them enjoy
American Idol

75

All broadcasts may
Be copied to archive
By whom the government
Does authorize

76

Anywhere previous
That copying's allowed
Adaption is permitted for
The very same crowd

Chapter IV

77

Moral rights means
You're identified
With works that you've made,
You can't go and hide

78

Luckily, these rights don't
Have to be asserted,
So go disown anything
You've made that's perverted

79

Not every copy
Requires your ID
If including it wouldn't
Be easily tidy

80

Rights include also
The right to complain
If use of your work
Damages your name

81

But not for reporting,
And not for software,
And not for censorship by
The BBC, take care

82

This sec imposes
Some qualification
But I didn't read it -
I took a vacation

83

The usual heaping
Of criminal accessories
Is now written here
In glorious excessories

84

You can't be ascribed
To what you didn't do,
(Nothing about denying what
You did do, boo hoo)

85

Private home movies
(And you know what I mean)
Do not have a right by
The public to be seen

86

The right to not be
Falsely ascribed
Lasts only til twenty years
After you've died
(This section was written by
Shakespeare's son Clyde)

87

You can waive moral rights
For what you have made
Just make sure you've been
Properly paid

88

Joint authorship
Is straight from above:
Take credit for work that
You're really proud of

89

How much of your work
Is protected by morals?
You'll have to read here,
Don't rest on your laurels

Chapter V

90

Copyright privilege
For some works of art
May be sub-licensed
In whole or in part

91

Give it away
Before you have won it
Much like the government
Seems to have done it

92

Exclusive license
Is herein defined,
Nothing new here,
Pay it no mind

93

Unpublished gifts,
When given, include
Copyright license
This section concludes

93A

Movie production
Rights, unless noted,
Include rental license
So here it's quoted

93B

Nevertheless,
Though rental's permitted
The author gets some of
The earnings remitted

93C

Just how much money
The author will get
Is, by some guys at a
Tribunal, set

94

Moral rights can't be
So rented out,
You're stuck with them, just like
A bad case of gout

95

But then, if you die,
They still get inherited
By people for which moral
Claim is not merited

Chapter VI

96

The guy with the copyright
Can sue, sue, sue,
And that's what he's surely
Intending to do

97

For innocent copying
You won't pay for damage
The copyright holders
Will just have to manage

97A

ISPs, notified,
Take down infringement,
Or find themselves subject
To harsh legal singement

98

If sued, you pay
Just like you should have;
You're clear, paying double
What you then would have

99

You may have to give up
Infringing works
To the rights-holder,
That's one of the quirks

100

The owner may seize any
Works in the shops
If he leaves a nice letter
And first tells the cops

101

Exclusive license
Won't let you sue
The owner; it seems like
It really ought to

101A

Other license holders
Have some rights, as well,
So bunches of people
Could sue you, oh swell

102

Copyright owners
When deciding to sue
Add all those others
to their lawsuit, too

103

When suing for moral
Rights, then the court
Can give useful orders
Of this or that sort

104

Assumptions are made;
Between you and me,
What happens when you
Assume liberally?

105

They assume who filmed this
They assume who wrote that
They pull these assumptions
Right out of their hat

106

When something is marked with
A crown copyright
They assume that the year
Is probably right

107

When guilty, they beat you
With large rusty hammers,
Or send you for ten years
Into the slammer

107A

"Local Weights and Measures"
Enforces these details;
Huh? What do they do?
Weigh them on scales?

108

Curious happenings
Are found in this clause
Each part of U.K.
Has its own set of laws

109

Warrants may be issued
When they do warrant
And not when the warrant
For warrants just aren't

110

Managers, directors,
And cute secretaries
Are liable for guilt that
Their company carries

111

Customs officials
Respond to requests
For barring infringement
They do their bests

112

So long as you fill out
All proper papers
And stamp them and fold them
And bang them with staplers

113

If you hid your copies
For more than six years
They can't take them from you
Or so it appears

114

The court sells illegal
Copies to get dough
And pays off the owners -
No really! It says so
(But buying them's legal?
That's what I want to know)

114A

This section talks about
Copies that got banned
And redress for owners
Everywhere but Scotland

114B

The subject continues
Here, Scotland only,
Scots laws are unique
They must get quite lonely

115

Likewise the court types
Depend on location
Calling this "United" is
A strange appellation

Chapter VII

116

This chapter's about
License and stuff,
Definitions and meanings
And that sort of fluff

117

With licensing types
This chapter is leading:
Copying, performing,
Renting, and reading

118

"Licensing bodies"
Is not what it seems
Regardless of what may
Occur in your dreams

119

You may be referred to
The copy tribunal
For arguments private
Or even communal

120

Tribunal discussions
Last for a year,
They sit and discuss
New problems they hear

121

They mumble and moan
And snuffle and snort
And try to make sense of
Each case of this sort

122

One wants a license
For this or for that,
Another one wants to
License his cat

123

The tribunal thinks hard
Until they have thunk
And then they go out to
A bar and get drunk

124

The next day they come back
To problems galore
Like claims upon authors
Of works, two or more

125

Depending on how bad
Their feel in their head
They might do some work
Or go back to bed

126

If you have a license
That's almost expired
Catch the tribunal
When they're pretty tired

127

They'll probably stamp
Whatever you're handing
If you're dressed and polite,
And not too demanding

128

If you get your license
You're legally able
To go out and sue every
Tom, Dick, and Mabel

128A

Excepted recordings;
When they are of sound
Have special instructions
Which herein are found

128B

The State Secretary
Is drawn in the fray
In the end, the tribunal
Has all the say

129

When figuring schemes
They take in account
Alternatives available,
Type and amount

130

Also, for copies,
Made on the fly,
They check what's available,
How many and why

131

They perforce consider
Each situation
And each circumstance
With deliberation

132

They listen to broadcasters
When they complain
That license for copying
Isn't germane

133

Also the payments
Must always be fair
You shouldn't have to
Be selling your heir

134

For retransmission,
Items considered
Include double payments
And where it's transmittered

135

Exceptions considered
In preceding clauses
Don't prevent further
"But"s or "because"s

135A

The following verses
Have now just begun
Their number is eight
Including this one

135B

All share the digits
Of one, three, and five
From which the numbers
For each verse derive

135C

All have a letter
From "A" until "H"
Which after the digits
Is firmly in place

135D

Ordering, too,
Is quite alphabetical
That's actual fact
And not theoretical

135E

Each verse is four lines
Which seems reasonable
And rhymes in a style
That's quite seasonable

135F

Making it pleasant
To read through the verses
The poetry's not great, but
It could have been worses

135G

When all's said and done
These sections will finish
But memories of them
Won't soon diminish

135H

Oh yeah! What's the text of
The acts for these sections?
... I'm sorry, it's late, I
Have no recollection

136

Broad license schemes
Indemnify those
Who make a mistake
When good will's supposed

137

If you run a school
And government likes you
The law can be bent if
Soon poised to strike you

138

First you must charm
The old Sec of State
Make him or her a big
Fudge chocolate cake

139

Better be careful
And bribe him real swell,
The copyright owner
Might bake cake, as well

140

After this cake
The State Sec may burble
And make up new rules
Written, not verbal

141

Early next day
He may then regret
Decisions he made,
You're not all safe yet

142

Royalty rates
For lending of works
Are subject to all of the
Tribunal's quirks

143

Licensing schemes
Can always be checked
Against all the rules
So that they're correct

144

Reasonable terms for
Your license, hot shot,
Is forced on you whether
You like it or not

144A

You can say yea
Or you can say nay
For cable to broadcast
Your song, book, or play

145

The Tribunal's members
Are playful and frisky:
Two deputies, chairman,
And bottles of whiskey

146

When the old guys get drunk,
They bring new guys in,
So they, on the whiskey,
Can henceforth begin

147

Parliament pays for
All of their wages
Considering BAC,
Experience, and ages

148

A chairman breaks ties,
And must be around,
If he can vote
Without falling down

149

The copy tribunal
Has jurisdiction
On stuff in a few of
The previous sections

150

There's Lord Chancellor
And Lord Advocate -
Ladies aren't written
Into laws, yet

151

Results may be made
On such and such date
For such and such terms
And such and such rate

152

You lost? Don't be sad
I know how you feel,
You always can try
To make an appeal

Chapter IX

153

This chapter tell us
What stuff qualifies
For copy protection;
Sit up, gals and guys!

154

If it took ten years to
Record, night and day,
Be British for five years
At least, plus a day

155

Or, get it published
Inside the UK
Or else in a country
Who thinks she's OK

156

Or, if transmitted,
From somewhere inside,
Copyright's coming,
Don't try to hide

157

The Queen may decide
That any old land
Is worthy of copy
Protection, how grand!

158

Colonies once owned -
Subsequently not -
Gain partial protection
You miserable lot

159

Whoops, it now seems
That really the Queen
Can only give rights to
A country that's clean

160

Miserable countries
That copy unfairly
Will get a swift kick in
The buttocks, squarely

161

All things that float
Within UK's waters
Are subject to this,
As surely they oughter

162

Ships that are British
Are henceforth defined
Though mentioned in no place
Ahead or behind

Chapter X

163

Crown copyright
Is applied to all works
By Queen or her servants,
That's one of the perks

164

Also Her Majesty
Can copy all Acts
And paste them with ribbons
On all royal cats

165

Parliamentary
Copyright, too
Affects works that MPs
Ask you to do

166

Bills are all morally
Protected, all sorts,
Not making the bills
All moral, of course

167

An MP who's low
On the task totem pole
Is given the "defend
Our copyrights" role

168

Protection applies to
Orgs international
Whenever the Queen thinks
To do so is rational

169

Folk tales, anon works,
Myths, lore: the lot
Default as protected
Unless proven not

170

Another whole schedule
Is written besides;
To works published prior to
This Act applied

171

This section says "Ha!
Just kidding, you fools!
No one is affected by
Any of these rules!"

172

The EEA means
European sorts
Regardless of language,
Temperament, or warts

173

When relevant, joint
Copyright's applied
To all of the owners,
As already implied

174

Teachers are people
Who teach, and, as well,
Students are people
Who study; do tell

175

Performing a work
Isn't publishing, y'all,
Nor playing or hanging
A work on a wall

176

Signature, when
It's required, is fine
If anyone relevant
And sober will sign

177

English is translated
To English for Scots:
They'll read it after
Drinking some shots

178

More definitions
Now get related
After you're already
Tired and frustrated

179

Lastly a glossary
Or index a kind;
Now have a lie down
And try to unwind

(But please also note
That good old UK
Tacked on the equiv
Of the DMCA)


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License.
Attribution should include a live link to this blog post, whenever possible; text link otherwise. License for commercial usage also available from the owner.

June Board and Card Game Patents

Method and system to incorporate game play into product transactions - A method of playing a game at the supermarket checkout, where if you win the game you get the product for the entry fee, and if you lose you simply get the product for it's usual price. Supposedly, this type of game of chance will not be considered "gambling" in those places that disallow gambling.

Method, apparatus and article for random sequence generation and playing card distribution - Card shufflers were invented to speed up and more thoroughly implement card shuffling at casino tables. This patent thinks they're not fast enough, and wants to simply generate a pseudo-random deck arrangement via computer and then either sort the cards to this arrangement, or print a brand spanking new deck in this arrangement.

But it doesn't stop there. I said pseudo-random, right? That's because the patent also specifies that the arrangement can be created with a house advantage.

Method of playing a card game involving a dealer - Place a bet. Deal one card. Pay out rewards. Place another bet. Deal another card. Pay out rewards. Repeat up to five times, depending on results.

Casino card game having Mahjong attributes - A card game with Mah-Jong symbols and a poker-like game to go with it.

Dice board game - You conceal point markers on your side of the board. Then a die is rolled, and each player moves a pawn according to the game's markings. When you reach the far end, you get the concealed point value. You win when you get a predetermined number of points. If the value is "Game Over" you win, regardless of the current point score.



Player-banked four card poker game - A four player poker game, where each player and the dealer gets an additional card and discards it, and then you have to beat the dealer. I'm unsure how the odds are kept in the dealer's favor this way.

Method for providing a blackjack double down wager - Probably the worst excuse for a patent I've yet seen this year.

You already have the option of splitting cards in a blackjack game, if the cards are below a certain value or are doubles. This patent lets you split your cards in other situations and for additional ante.

Modified method of playing blackjack - Blackjack, where an additonal bet is placed that your hand will be the highest valued hand at the table. I must admit, this one comes close to the last one in terms of an absurd excuse for a patent.

Marble board game - A Pachisi game, where the board is a track for marbles and the movement is played with a hand of five standard playing cards.

April Board and Card Game Patents

Welcome to another edition of board and card game patents. April's list is a long one, so let's get started.

Educational game - An educational math puzzle to teach the multiplication table. Tiles with the correct products go into the correct rows and columns of board containing the multiplication table, and each piece also has two colors representing the row and column so as to eliminate the need for actually learning any math.

Big money playing card game and method - A financial card game called "Big Money". Also includes a die. You must first play a Business License card and then play your lowest money cards in order. If you don't have a Business License card, you can trade money with someone who has a duplicate. The highest money card in your hand is deducted against you at the end of the hand.

There are hazard cards which you can play on other players, making the game looks nearly identical to Milles Bornes.

Poker-type card game method - By New Poker Championships, players are dealt three cards each and only four cards are turned up. Wow. What a patent. I feel heady. I think I need to lie down.

Card game - A game of seven card stud (aka Pai Gow Poker), with a joker in the deck. Supposedly the patent simplifies the betting somehow, but I didn't see how.

September 11, 2001 commemorative chess set - A design patent:



I assume that these are both white and black pieces, since only one set is shown. So you can sacrifice your black firefighter, for instance, to take down the white World Trade Center. For some reason, the patent also references Martin Luther King's 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, although it doesn't say why.

Method of automatically and fairly playing a die game and machine for the same - By Jumbo Technology, a machine that shakes dice in an opaque cup and lets players bet on them before they are revealed. It also determines the dice results electronically.

Method for playing casino poker game - "Each player is dealt five cards, with an option to utilize a sixth card to improve the five-card hand. The players pay a percentage of their ante wager, e.g., 10% or 20%, for the right to use a sixth card, and the dealer pays a set fee, e.g., $0.50, $1.00, or $2.00 for the right to use a sixth card."

Poker style game and method - Players split their cards into multiple hands and bet against the dealer's hands after he did the same.

Apportionment of pay out of casino game with escrow - By Progressive Gaming, it's an attempt to provide a knowledge-based game (trivia) into a casino without losing the house advantage. It does this by stealing the losses of some players and using that money as the payout for correct answers.

Yangtze hold 'em and other poker games played with a chinese poker deck - Texas Hold'em with a "Chinese" deck of cards and a few rules about wild cards.

But man, does this guy go on and on about the Chinese, cards, and the state of the universe in his background information. Some samples:

As we, the "earth people" living in this planet, enter into the 21.sup.st century, there have been profound changes in world affairs that severely impact the well-being of our society. One can list a number of such events that led to those changes. But among them three really stand out. The first event has to be the end of the cold war between the Soviet Union and the United States which led indirectly to the breakup of the Soviet Empire. This event has changed many lives, both within and without the former Soviet Union. Many people living formerly under the Soviet rule are today enjoying their political freedom for the first time after many decades. More importantly they have now become productive and free citizens once again in their new environments leading to significant economical gain because of their entrepreneurship and hard work.

...

It is well known that over centuries the Chinese love to play the games of chance or to put it simply, they love to gamble. Gambling is literally in their blood, so to say, just as the Irish love visiting their neighborhood pub for a drink of beer after work prior to going home.

...

It is difficult to imagine a Chinese who is indifferent to Feng Shui--the age old Chinese concept of associating harmony with luck and good fortune! Feng Shui in Chinese means wind and water. Its origin dates back several thousand years to ancient China. The geography of that vast land requires careful consideration when constructing a building since the mountain winds can be severe and the lower areas are prone to flooding. Thus for the ancient Chinese, Feng Shui literally means "luck engineering".

...

Die eye number determination method, die eye number determination apparatus, and electronic apparatus using same - An electronic doodad that can scan a box and determine the results of dice that have been thrown into it.

Board game - A design patent for the game board Chexagon. You can download rules for how to play four adapted classic games on the board.

System and method for playing a role-playing game - Yah, um, this is a patent on some sort of Keno betting variant by GameLogic, Inc. This has nothing to do with role-playing games. ???

Card making device, card making method and recording medium thereof - Unless I'm mistaken, I believe that this is a device that allows one to print out a game card using any characteristics stored in the system, so that CCGs don't have to be so collectible.

Book with rotating device - A trivia book with questions and answers, where you make guesses by rotating tabs around the circular edge of the book and then look at the answers on the page that is selected.

Mosaic playing-cards - This was the most promising looking patent I've seen all year. Just look at the abstract:

A new gaming tool and method of game play including an unconventional deck of playing-cards not employing symbolic relations, but rather employing actual relations between rectilinear geometric regions. The playing-cards preferably employ geometric interactions of reflection, complementarity, contrariety, and identity. Geometric card properties that further enhance game play include figure-ground reversibility, handedness, rotational transformation, and perpendicular association.

This sounds pretty cool. At this point, I was envisioning playing cards that weren't rectangular but made of weird shapes. I'm figuring: pick a card and try to place it like a puzzle piece, or something.

Further description made it sound even cooler (samples):

A multi-dimensional system of relations between cards, and various subsets of cards, is essential to the versatility of a successful deck of playing-cards. The success of a deck of playing-cards, as a gaming tool, is also due in no small way to its ergonomic physical attributes. Cards are portable and inexpensive. Opaque construction provides the security needed for competitive game play. The conventional rectangular shape facilitates shuffling the deck, a function that is essential in playing card games.

While many unique decks of playing-cards exist, the state of the art is overwhelmingly emblematic, employing symbolic marks on the card's playing face. The multiplicity of games that can be developed is based upon, and limited by, the relations of the various symbols.

The most popular deck of playing-cards is related as a simple matrix consisting of a hierarchical sequence with the addition of suit modifiers.

There are of course limits to the symbolic relations in this simple matrix. A deck of playing-cards having playing faces that are subdivided into geometric regions, or play-fields, would allow for geometric relations in a physical or non-symbolic manner. Thus, such a deck would provide the opportunity for new and unique games that are not possible with decks of emblematic playing-cards.

Cultural bias can be observed in many of the symbols employed in emblematic playing-cards. Corner indicia of the popular English playing-cards employ numeric symbols that are foreign to non-English speaking peoples. Symbols of the English Royalty and the superiority of King over Queen could be offensive to some and foreign to others. Similar cultural symbols can be observed in emblematic playing-cards around the world.

In today's highly communicative world, the cultural bias of conventional emblematic playing-cards limits the opportunity for cross-cultural play. By contrast, games that employ the more fundamental and universal concepts of geometric shapes and relations are trans-cultural and timeless. Geometric playing-cards provide the opportunity for truly global game play.

Unfortunately, I missed the part where it said "having playing faces that are subdivided into geometric regions", i.e. not the shapes of the cards themselves. If I hadn't missed that, I would not have been let down when I saw the result:

Which is still pretty cool, but not as cool as I was expecting.

The inventor actually goes on to give names to each of the possible orientations of cards with two divided boxes (pictured) or four divided boxes on each card.

So what can you do with cards like these? Play games where you try to form matching objects by collecting, swapping, or reorienting cards, not only by having them on the cards themselves, but by creating them by laying cards next to each other.

Card game suitable for casino play - An additional bet made before any game of poker that the common cards will be all black or red, or above or below a certain value.

Game and system for nostalgically replicating baseball and a method for playing a baseball game - "A need ... exists for a game and a system for nostalgically replicating baseball." Which means, not simply representing it, but representing it nostalgically. Which means I don't know what, but it comes with little craft items that look like old baseball bats, dugouts, and score flippers.

The game, whose mechanics are buried in the patent, looks comparable to War.

Royal game and method of playing - An additional bet made before any game of poker that your hand will contain four cards valued 10 or higher.

Card game and method of playing the same - A three-card poker game of some kind using three sets of card numbered 0 to 14. Various payouts for different types of hands.

Cheerleader action-figure board game - A roll-and-move board game, where, after drawing a card, you take your movable cheerleader action figure and physically fling her through the air hoping she will land upright. Uses Velcro for catching the dolls, somehow. It's supposed to teach about competitive cheerleading.

Interactive educational game - A toy called "Match 'N Trace", where you draw a disk and then trace or draw what's on the disk.

Yehuda

February Board and Card Game Patents

Another month of silly patents in the board and card game industry. For previous months, see my sidebar.

Combined chess game carrier and playing surface - A design patent for a chessboard that also stores chess pieces in bubbles on the surface adjacent to the board.

Method for playing wagering games - A casino game played with domino tiles. You try to arrange three dominoes to get a high "hand" above the line and a low one below.

Rock cycle card game - A deck of cards with an educational rock-based theme. The game is something like UNO.

Sporting event prediction and skill game - Any game where you bet on events that may occur in a sports game you are watching.

Method for playing a poker game with many players - How do you play Texas Hold'Em with lost of people and ensure that each player has a different card combination? By pre-printing scratch-off cards (like lottery cards) with two playing card faces on each.

Poker game with required dealer discard - Dealer is dealt an additional card, which he must discard if it falls within a certain range; otherwise the extra card is discarded.

Game and method of playing the game - Not a very helpfully named patent. It's a word scramble and anagram game.

System and method for playing a table and electronic card game - Amazingly enough, an even less helpfully named patent. The dealer is dealt a card, players are dealt five cards. Each one is flipped up, one at a time, with the player winning or losing based on its comparison to the dealer's card. I think.

Poker game with dealer disqualifying hand - Bet on the hand and also bet on certain hands appearing, and the dealer discards if his hand is shown to be too good.

Blackjack game with discard option - You can toss out your initial card and draw a new one by paying something less than your bet.

Casino craps card game - I'm sure tired of gambling games. This one is weird:

A method for playing a game played by at least one player having both numbered playing cards and a pair of dice. The method for the game includes randomizing at least six of the playing cards, wherein each card contains a single digit from one to six. The playing cards are then inserted into a series of boxes or slots on a table wherein the boxes or slots correspond to the digits one through six. One player is offered an opportunity to be a dealer and is provided with a pair of six-sided dice. The dice are rolled by the dealer and the outcome of the playing card or cards is determined and the total of the cards is determined by the outcome of the dice. Winners and losers are determined from the card or the cards.

Method of playing a bonus wager - Bet on a "bonus hand" made from taking one card each from different players' hands.

Music theory games and methods of playing music theory games - A music trivia game.

Soccer strategy board game - A soccer game where the pieces are moved by magnets.

Another Perspective on Copyright

The misuse of IP is often conveyed by comparing the result of an overreaching copyright claim or enforcement to the "original intent" of copyright law.

The so-called "original intent" is often derived from the text of the U.S. constitution, which writes "The Congress shall have Power [. . .] To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

What does this mean? Essentially, that the natural state of being is for there to be free expression. In other words, assume that no copyright exists and that people are free to say, perform, or write whatever they want.

In this state, people have no incentive to produce anything that requires any sort of invested time or money, since they will not receive any guaranteed compensation from it. The result will be a general loss to the public - the loss of the words, music, and art that was never produced.

In order to solve this, the law steps in and slightly limits free speech, free press, and so on, and grants a time-limited monopoly to those who produce something worthwhile, so that they can use that time to make money from the work. In theory, the law limits the public's rights just enough to encourage the creation of the work, and no more. After the copyright has expired, the work passes to the public, which was the entire point to begin with.

Even if this was the original intention of the framers of the U.S. constitution, this is not the only argument for the existence of copyright, nor is this necessarily the only "original" intent of copyright laws.

Copyright laws pre-date the U.S. constitution. Even before the printing press, some books claimed within them the exclusive right to reproduction and warned others about divine curses should they make copies. After the printing press, a whole series of laws, precedents, and international systems were bandied about (such as the Statute of Anne), before the Berne convention essentially became the de facto international standard.

Libertarians argue that intellectual property qua property is a modern invention, but it's really not. It's not that weird to believe that someone "owns" a worthwhile idea, phrase, writing, artwork, or piece of music. It's natural and moral to acknowledge the source of a particular work; claiming to be the originator of an idea or phrase that isn't yours, or neglecting to mention whose it is when you know, strikes most people as morally problematic. Once you acknowledge that something ephemeral has a source, it's not a big leap to believe that they have some rights to its presentation or dissemination.

If this is the case, than claiming that the sole intent of copyright is to benefit the public and not also a moral right of the originator of a work is somewhat disingenuous, regardless of what the U.S. constitution writes.

The problem is one of conflicting rights: namely, the right to free expression (speech, press, and so on) versus the right to possess or control intellectual property. Which right is more important? Can there be a balance? Can there be a win-win for all sides?

According to many philosophers, the only natural rights that all people possess are to life and to liberty. Already you have a conflict. The notion of a right is of something that limits the liberties of others. My right to life is only usefully defined if it includes a duty for all other people to not abrogate that right. All other people must be forcibly constrained from acting in a way that limits or lessens my life.

Other philosophers add a number of other basic rights to this list: the right to property, i.e. that what you hold others cannot summarily take from you, the right to be free from torture, and so on.

Regarding the right to property, the issue here is physical property versus intellectual property. The big difference is that I must be dispossessed of a physical object for someone else to have it. For instance, if I claim a piece of land, the only way someone else can have some of that land is for me to have less of it.

Intellectual property, on the other hand, can be obtained by others with no actual loss to me. I may own how to create a fire, but if others also spread this knowledge, I don't lose this information. It is analogous to the spread of fire itself. I may possess the only torch. If another torch is lit from mine, mine is not diminished.

However, there is a loss involved, even for intellectual property. If I am the unique possessor of a piece of information, it has value in that others must come to me to obtain it. The more the information spreads, the less valuable my property. So loss is incurred by "stealing" and copying my information.

Many would argue that information wants to be free. That, unlike physical objects, or perhaps more like fire, once information exists and begins to spread, any attempt to control it is unnatural. Therefore, I should never have evaluated the holding of this information as having any value to begin with. However, all that this means is that I should have obtained a much larger sum up front for releasing the information to the world at once, rather than expecting to obtain a small amount from each person who wants it.

Supposing that we discard the idea that information wants to be free and that copyright exists only to liberate it from those who would otherwise not release it. Let's, for a moment, agree that people should have a right to own their intellectual works.

This still begs an important problem: all progress we make as humans relies on incremental steps that incorporate all previous human knowledge. Every piece of science, math, art, engineering, and so on is built on every other piece. If all knowledge is locked up with the owner of that knowledge, we may as well just throw in the towel as a species.

Excessively restricting knowledge is detrimental to human progress. It seems to me that there is one more natural right: the right to use ideas to create new ideas.

Limits should be placed on any knowledge ownership, so as to ensure that all works enter the public domain in reasonable time. In addition, more severe limits should be placed on derivatives created from owned works. Otherwise, the human race ends up strangling in a quagmire of IP holdings. Even if IP is a natural right, it is in conflict with a right to use the collected knowledge of our species to grown and contribute back to our species.

Copyright law should still strike a balance between these two rights.

Yehuda

November Board and Card Game Patents

Rewarding detection of notable nonrandom patterns in games - Apparently, this is a patent for handing out a reward to a player who points out that the cards you've been dealing weren't properly shuffled.

System and methods for randomizing playing instruments for use in online gaming - The abstract makes it sound like this is a claim for Eye of Judgment, but in the end it is only the simulation and process of realistic-looking card shuffling on screen.

Poker game - A game of Texas Hold-Em where the discarded cards of players who fold are discarded face up instead of face down. Now patented. I kid you not.

Gameboard, games played on board and methods of play requiring strategy and luck - A marriage between Chess and Euchre, where a hand of Euchre is played every time a piece is attacked.

Card game - Another patent where the abstract describes something entirely different than what is actually claimed. The abstract makes it sound like any game where you use cards rather than dice to move your pieces. When you read the description, it is a specific board game with a U.S. military base theme and the deck of cards is the Pentagon-issued most-wanted Iraqis set.

Multiple dice device - One or more little dice within a large clear die.

Computerized game with cascading strategy and full information - A strange kind of game that makes use of a Checkers game format. A randomized Checkers game and some sort of goal is provided, and the player has to achieve the goal. I'm not sure if all goals are meant to be necessarily obtainable.

Card game - TarotReader.

Poker game with spoken ranks - Liar's Poker (Liar's Dice with poker hands).

Basketball board game - Correctly named, with several pieces for each player, using dice.

Three dimensional piece alignment game - Most patents have a small section listing the impetus for why this invention is required. They try to define everything else as flawed in exactly the way that the invention is not.

This patent's impetus boldly asserts the reason for this invention: "A game requiring strategy for the movement of pieces as well as interaction with other players is desired. A game that can have the level of complexity easily reduced so that the game can be enjoyed by children as well as adults is also desirable."

Can't think of any existing games like, nuh uh. So we're off to a good start. But wait; it gets better.

There's no game. The patent's entire claim is for any game, of any type, with pieces and a board of some sort, where the object is to align the pieces that are flipped up in some manner. That's it. It doesn't have any rules.

In fact, it considers this a Good Thing: "The game allows players flexibility to select rules to adjust the skill level of the game. The game can be sized for travel, played in tournament style, or computerized in a hand held device or network."

In other words: I got nothing. Can't think of a game. So I'm going to patent this mechanic. As soon as someone invents a game that looks like it uses my mechanic, I'll sue them.

Too bad for him that Reversi is already over 100 years old.

Yehuda

I'm published, again

Timothy Wherry, a law professor in IP at Penn State Altoona, just published the book Intellectual Property: Everything the Digital Age Librarian Needs to Know. You can pick up a copy from the ALA here, but it should be on Amazon eventually.

It's basically a summary of IP and how to search for them using online resources. The fun part is that Tim found my three poems summarizing the IP codes (copyright, trademark, and patent) helpful for his IP studies. He wrote that they helped as a reference to the relevant sections in the legal code.

With my permission, the entirety of all three poems were included as Appendix A in his book.

Game News

I understand church groups using board games in their functions, but using Halo 3 during church meetings sounds a little odd. It's basically a first person shoot 'em up gorefest.

Mental Floss has a quiz up on whether you can identify the real board games from the ones they made up.

Chess professionals are up to their misbehaving antics again. Read about the latest series of lawsuits, alleged smear campaigns, and other shenanigans on Boylston's linkpost.

Hasbro's continuing campaign to allow people to vote for which towns end up on their new Here and Now Monopoly board has resulted in the highest place spot on the new French board going to the town of Montcuq, whose unfortunate spoken resemblance to the French "mon cul" means "my bum".

Finally but OT, my dear friend Treppenwitz sticks it to one of those people we've all wanted to stick it to.

Yehuda

Review: IPWatchdog.com

The following is a paid review.

Foreword

I've turned down many review opportunities for sites unrelated to games, but I decided to do this one. After all, intellectual property is one of the sub-themes of this blog, what with my poetry IP codes, board and card game patents, and so on. And I really liked one of the features of this site, the Museum of Obscure Patents.

It's a weekly feed containing a ridiculous patent of the week, from disposable boxer shorts to a "beerbrella" to a "stick" for playing with a dog. Some of them are games, too, like the "skin-irritating game". A great read.

Intellectual Property

IPWatchdog is an information resource for all areas of intellectual property (IP). Its main contributor is a New York patent attorney named Eugene R. Quinn, Jr.

Interesting features include:

IP Articles: Hundreds of articles on intellectual property, including basic and advanced information on copyrights, patents including provisional patents, trademarks, and trade secrets.

Business Articles: Including information how to build a web presence, as well as IP issues, of course.

Invention Articles: Including information about keeping an invention notebook and invention marketing, as well as IP issues, of course.

The Museum of Obscure Patents, as noted above.

Other sections have recently been introduced and so don't contain much information yet, such as sections on the Internet, International IP law, IP cartoons, a user forum, and an Inventor's Hall of Fame.

Review

There's not much to say about all these features except that they're good. It's a well done site, well organized, with useful information.

There are some minor navigational issues. Some of the menus are not consistent, which looks like an oversight; the menus were updated on some pages but not on others. Also, the fonts are a little wacky. A single article might change fonts and font sizes three times or more. It might be a Firefox issue, but I suspect the CSS needs some clean up.

Professional Services

Of course, what's a nice site without an offer of professional services. In another strange navigational issue, the professional services offered by the company behind the site are available only from the Site Map page. The services offered include help with business and inventions, as well as consultation and legal preparation of IP services.

I like that the promotional aspect of the site is low key, but surely they could make the link to their professional services just a little more prominent.