The end of continuous campaigns! Literal patent trolls want to take your characters way and tell you how to game! Looks like it’s time to bring out Comrade Jason on the big guns!
http://www.geeknative.com/46075/games-publisher-attempts-patent-rpg-mechanics/
I saw this a few days ago when it was making the rounds on gaming sites. I’m not a patent attorney, but I have a hard time believing a process such as this one would pass the smell test. Even if the patent was granted, enforcement would be impossible, practically-speaking. First of all, most RPG designers make little to no money, so they would effectively be judgment-proof (see the example of Dungeon World, one of the most popular games going right now, and the fact that Sage and Adam only made $150 on the first print run). The only companies that would be vulnerable to suit would be the big guys, like WotC and Monte Cook.
I saw this a few days ago when it was making the rounds on gaming sites. I’m not a patent attorney, but I have a hard time believing a process such as this one would pass the smell test. Even if the patent was granted, enforcement would be impossible, practically-speaking. First of all, most RPG designers make little to no money, so they would effectively be judgment-proof (see the example of Dungeon World, one of the most popular games going right now, and the fact that Sage and Adam only made $150 on the first print run). The only companies that would be vulnerable to suit would be the big guys, like WotC and Monte Cook.