Copyrighting a game.

ID:181098
 
Aug 13 2011, 8:11 am
I'm going to do some research later on copyright laws, but does anyone know if BYOND instantly copyrights your original game and its ideas, or do you have to do that on your own?
Aug 13 2011, 8:39 am (Edited on Aug 13 2011, 10:28 am)
Pinnacle wrote:
I'm going to do some research later on copyright laws, but does anyone know if BYOND instantly copyrights your original game and its ideas, or do you have to do that on your own?

You'll have to do that on your own. Although some services will require you to pay for protection, there are a few free intellectual property copyright sites that exist, to prove they are your ideas, such as http://myows.com/ Good luck with your game.
Aug 13 2011, 8:59 am
In response to Exploshun
Thanks. I'm going for something quite original, so I really want it to be secure.
Aug 13 2011, 10:07 am
Copyright protection is actually automatic in most countries (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright#Obtaining_copyright). Services such as that indicated by Exploshun aren't necessary to obtain copyright protection but provide 'proof' that you came up with something first which may be useful if you want to get infringing work taken down but aren't legally necessary.
Aug 13 2011, 2:50 pm (Edited on Aug 13 2011, 3:06 pm)
In response to Hazman
If you want the Best security I'd assume it'd be best to go for a payed copyrighting company, but as to why they charge, I don't know. Perhaps they make sure no one is copying your copyrighted by searching for anyone using it?

This</a ref> site talks about hat a copyright covers, but Copyright doesn't cover these:
*names, titles, slogans or phrases - though you might be able to register these as a trade mark
*products or industrial processes - though these may have design right or be eligible for patent protection
*ideas

I think the better question is, "How do I "protect" the Original Characters of my game (Names, Appearance, and Race like Humans), the Story (I guess it'd be classified as a novel?), Fictional Places and locations, Music, Logos, Game Title, etc. How would I go about making sure everything in my game is protected because Copyright doesn't cover all of those, I've heard about Patents, Intellectual Property, and Trademarks. All of those protect like a copyright, but different things. Which ones of these would I need to protect everything in my game?