Recently, a specialized training event titled "Compliance to Navigate the Digital Wave, Intellectual Property to Lead the Future of Games," hosted by the Shanghai Network Game Industry Association, was successfully held in Shanghai. This training gathered numerous experts and practitioners from regulatory bodies, the judiciary, academia, and the industry to engage in in-depth sharing and discussion on topics such as online game advertising compliance, trade secret protection, key case adjudication highlights, and judicial practice interpretations.
Llinks partner Mr. James Wang, was invited as a guest speaker for this event, presenting on "From the Identification of Cosmetic Alteration Plagiarism to the Judicial Practice Interpretation of Gameplay Rule Protection." He provided a deep analysis of contentious issues such as " cosmetic alteration change plagiarism" and "gameplay rule protection," sharing practical experiences in the field of online game intellectual property.
Firstly, Mr. Wang creatively proposed a "protection and limitation model" for intellectual achievements, focusing on the basic principles of Article 2 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, including parallel protection of copyright results, elevation protection of trademark results, and protection against competitive disadvantage.
Subsequently, in his exploration of copyright protection for "gameplay rule protection," he emphasized the significance of "first fixation" and the game design configuration table as a form of "intermediate expression." By utilizing structured data, he illustrated how gameplay rules connect with visuals, with originality reflected in field design, numerical combinations, and logical relationships, potentially constituting a new type of work. " Cosmetic alteration plagiarism" refers to the act of plagiarists obtaining core design documents such as planning configuration tables, replacing art resources while retaining the underlying gameplay logic, essentially stealing the intellectual achievement expressed through structured data.
Additionally, Mr. Wang suggested that companies could consider a dual protection strategy of "copyright + trade secrets," similar to source code protection.
In the rapidly developing digital entertainment industry, the protection of intellectual property in the online gaming sector faces unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Through the in-depth exchanges of this training, participants were able to gain a deeper understanding of regulatory policies, insights into judicial dynamics, and first-hand experiences through case discussions and practical sharing.
In the future, Llinks will continue to monitor developments in intellectual property protection within the gaming industry, committed to providing forward-looking and precise legal support to help online gaming companies navigate and thrive in a complex and changing legal environment.
