![]() If Namco had sued someone over its patent, there’s a good chance it would have lost. Last year, the Supreme Court struck down a patent for describing nothing but an abstract idea performed on a computer. Namco gave no information of value in return for its monopoly on auxiliary games. In court, vagueness is often rewarded over specificity, as plaintiffs stretch the boundaries of their inventions to cover the defendants’ products.Īs for the auxiliary game patent, it simply describes the idea of loading a separate game while the player waits for the main game. They offer no real information about how to implement a feature, only a vaguely worded description of the feature itself. Unfortunately, many software patents do just the opposite. The Supreme Court has said that patents should only be granted for “those inventions which would not be disclosed or devised but for the inducement of a patent.” In other words, if the inventor isn’t trading information of real value for the patent, then it’s not a good patent. ![]() Inventors are rewarded with a temporary monopoly on their invention in exchange for giving the public information on how it works. The purpose of patents, as spelled out in the U.S. Given the breadth of Namco’s claims, there is a very strong case that its application should have been rejected as anticipated or obvious in light of Invade-a-Load.ĭoes the Loading Screen Game Patent Promote Innovation? As a game developer, you could package Invade-a-Load with your game while players waited for the game, they’d be treated to a mini-game similar to Space Invaders. In 1987, many years before Namco filed its patent application, Richard Aplin created Invade-a-Load, a utility for developers who wrote games for the Commodore 64 computer. The idea of playing a small game while the larger one loads has been around for a very long time. law defines a patentable invention.Īccording to the law, a person isn’t entitled to a patent if the claimed invention already existed when the application was filed or would have been obvious to someone skilled in the relevant technology area. What’s the big deal? Namco thought of loading screen games first, so they earned the patent, right? Well, let’s look at how U.S. Should Loading Screen Games Be Patentable? If she beat Galaxian before Ridge Racer was done loading, she’d be rewarded in Ridge Racer with access to some in-game bonuses. Suddenly, the player wasn’t thinking about how boring it was to wait for a game to load she could have fun playing Galaxian while the console took its time loading Ridge Racer. It took no time at all for a PlayStation to load Galaxian. Namco’s Ridge Racer addressed the problem by including a second game, the 80s classic Galaxian. Watching a loading screen was boring, especially when you were used to the instant gratification of cartridge games. When you booted up a PlayStation game, you had to wait for the console to load game data from the disc into its own memory. ![]() It replaced the game cartridges of the previous generation with CD-ROMs. Its graphical capabilities blew predecessors like the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo out of the water, but it had one big disadvantage. The first Sony PlayStation was introduced in 1994. How Loading Screen Games Weren’t Invented It’s emblematic of a big problem with a lot of patents, particularly software patents. In the midst of all the excitement, it’s worth taking a moment to ask whether Patent 5,718,632 should have been issued in the first place. ![]() The patent expired on November 27, which has generated a lot of excitement in the gaming world, and even inspired a Loading Screen Jam where developers create their own loading screen games. Namco’s patent covers “auxiliary games” that a player can enjoy while the main game is loading. What’s transpired in the 17 years since then can best be described as an unnecessary wastage of time. Patent and Trademark Office issued Patent 5,718,632, on a method for avoiding “unnecessary wastage of time” in video games. ![]()
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