patents should not exist
this post was submitted on 20 May 2026
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The original idea behind them had some merit: in exchange for showing everyone else exactly how to do a cool new thing, you got to temporarily be the only one to profit from it. They've devolved into parenting general ideas (see the shopping cart patent) and fucking over anyone who finds a way to make the idea work, though.
The key is "temporarily" though. Even in the 18th century and prior when technology evolved at the pace of a snail on sedatives that meant 5, maybe 10, at most 15 years.
Then in the 90s the world's international cartel of IP rights got together and decided they should make it 20 years everywhere, just so corporations can monopolize anything they make for the entire the duration of its usefulness. With the speed of progress today I'd be surprised if most aren't obsolete before they become available to the general public. 3D printing is only a thing now because Stratasys was hoarding the FDM patent since the fucking 90s.
Shit needs to go back down to 5 years again.
I'd say patents should be limited to physical goods. Game mechanics should never have been allowed.
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~~company~~ Nintendo
And Namco (minigames in loading screens, started in Ridge Racer), Warner Bros (Nemesis system from Shadow of Mordor), SEGA (GPS arrows from Crazy Taxi)...
I know "Nintendo bad" is a popular narrative but they're far from the only one.
The Namco one ran out in 2015, right on time for SSDs. Though I guess we could still use them for shader compilation 😴
The biggest annoyance is that patents doesn't prevent usage... Just require permission... they could ask anything or nothing, it just would need to be acceptable. And well here we are.
Why rely on someone else's go-ahead if you can just do something different? They didn't patent it for no reason - they want a cut if someone using it makes a bunch of money, and likely won't give you the go-ahead without that guarantee.
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The GPS arrow is patented?
Sega applied for and was awarded U.S. Patent 6,200,138 – "Game display method, moving direction indicating method, game apparatus and drive simulating apparatus" – in 2001. The mechanics in the "138 patent" describe an arcade cabinet similar to Sega's previous arcade game Harley-Davidson & L.A. Riders (1997), but also describe the arrow navigation system and pedestrian avoidance aspects that were used in Crazy Taxi.
In 2001, Electronic Arts and Fox Interactive released The Simpsons: Road Rage, which reviews identified as being clearly inspired by the gameplay of Crazy Taxi. In this game, the player controlled one of The Simpsons characters as they drive around Springfield, bringing passengers to these destinations in a way like in Crazy Taxi. In December 2001, Sega brought Fox Entertainment, Electronic Arts, and developer Radical Games Ltd. to court over this infringement of the 138 patent. The case, Sega of America, Inc. v. Fox Interactive, et al., was settled in private for an unknown amount. The 138 patent is considered to be one of the most important patents in video game development.
company Nintendo
We from Nintendo would appreciate it if you stopped inventing things immediately. Innovation is a protected activity.
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When everything had long loading times (and we still have them from time to time) there was a genius idea : minigames on the loading screen to pass the time.
ONE company did this, patented the concept and till then no one is allowed to do that.
Which company?
It was Namco, and the patent expired in 2015.
So did long loading screens
Tfw you can't read the loading screen gameplay tips because your computer is too fast
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Shame Ubisoft didn’t do this for climbing a tower to reveal the surrounding area in the map tbh
I'm actually sick of this one. Way too many games do it. Even goddamn final fantasy 7 remake 2 did a shitty version of it
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Nothing mentioned in the post but I am 99% sure Anon is talking about Nemesis system from Shadow of Mordor/Shadow of War.
Is there any other notable example of this?
Didnt knew any besides that one before found this article.
For those who do not want to click:
- Nemesis mechanic by WB (expire 2036)
- Mini-games during loading screen by Namco (expired in 2015)
- Ping system - like pinging on the map so your team mates can see or pay attention to it. EA (expires 2039) FUCK EA
- Dialogue wheel like in Mass Effect - fuck EA (s 2029)
- Direction arrow - racing games, Crazy Taxi style - Sega (expired in 2018 but doubt it will be ever used again)
- Pokemon's fight and catch for later fighting mechanic - fuck Nintendo and Game Freak
- Active Time Battle - not sure, I dont play JRPGs but this one was introduced in FFIV - Square Enix (expired 2012)
- Guitar as a controller for Rocksmith - Ubisoft (2029)
- Mouse controlled flight for aircraft games - Gaijin (expires 2033)
- Plastic musical instruments - Harmonix that was fighting with Konami for the rights (expires 2032)
Nemesis system is probably the most notable because it was a great mechanic that everyone liked. And it is only been used in 2 games and never again.
Edit: Ubisoft and Rocksmith instead of Guitar Hero.
I wonder if we could make a gamejam game that violates all of these.
Wasn't the Pokemon ones ruled as invalid or not registrable with big N fight with Pal World?
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yep, minigames on loading screens.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/12/loading-screen-game-patent-finally-expires
pointless in the age of direct storage and high SSD speeds.
if you've lived before that: corporate thanks you for patiently waiting while counting their unrealized gains and lost potential on spreadsheets and ppts
So minigames when shaders compile?
The Nemesis system in the LOTR games is a perfect example
Isn't that basically the only example? How many other cases do you ever hear people talk about? Obviously there are others, I see others given in this post, but you never really hear about them.
When games had long load times, there was a company that patented putting short and quick to load mini games on screen instead of loading screens you just stared at.
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Generally speaking, most game mechanics are not copyright-able, not patentable. Game mechanics themselves tend to be treated as base components, as in, like a drum beat or a bass line. It’s rare cases where those are distinct, usually in context (see Vanilla Ice & Under Pressure). Because a beat or bass line can be so basic as a component, it’s considered part of the arrangement and not the composition itself. Video game mechanics can likewise be in this configuration.
For instance, summoning heroes (Nintendo loss) is a mechanic / part of the composition of that game, but the larger video game is a particular arrangement. Specific characters (pikachu) can very much be copyrighted individually, but games themselves are typically less liable for patents / copyright, and so on.
Also, for good measure, since it’s a massive benefit to the freedom of expression. Video games would be a depressing medium if people could capitalize on mechanics like patent trolls.
To be clear, some technologies used in association with video games can be patented, but that’s when a patentable technology is combined with a game, which is much less common in the medium.
Counterpoint: Summoning characters by throwing an item and having the character appear at the position of the item has been patented by Nintendo, as has using a summoned character as a hang glider.
Japanese patent law is pretty terrible.
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What about that arrow in Simpsons driving game? Didn't they get in trouble for using what Sega patented in Crazy Taxi?
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Still salty about that "Sanity System" bullshit patent by ...surprise surprise...nintendo.
Easily solved with some creative thinking:
Create a "mental congruence" system.
It's not just a title replacement, as congruence is a different metric than sanity and is more broad generally, and can be influenced by information, cognitive dissonance, and smelling your own farts.
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Is the nemesis system finally back on the free market?
That should never have been allowed to be patented. Its way too generalized
Missed opportunity to ask if the nemesis system is back on the menu...
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Legend of dragoon has a frustrating but amazing additions system no one else does today. With wireless controller lag I’m not certain gust of wind dance would be possible anyway, but it was so different from everything before and after it.
I’m convinced this is why.
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RIP super soaker water pistols
Work around the patent by making them only moderately soaking
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