Regarding the merger doctrine, please consider:
- A particular set of game rules are purely functional, unadorned by
description, and for that reason are not protected by copyright;
- To play the game described by the rules a game board must have a
certain arrangement of black and white squares, in appearance much
like a cross word puzzle without the letters filled in, or like a
traditional Scrabble board;
- A company wishing to sell the game prints the rules and sells them
with its printing of the board. In designing its version of the
board it does not use the color scheme or trademark or ornament of
any other company that sells the game; but in fact its board is
extremely similar to the other because it must be to implement the
rules.
In this circumstance:
- cannot idea and expression be said to be merged?
- If game rules are not copyright protected (a view on which there is
some but not, I think, a lot of room for debate) then must not the
board design also be not protected?
- Does anyone know how cases regarding crossword puzzles might affect
this analysis?
Consider the board strictly speaking is not "copied" from preexisting
board; it is an independent implementation of unprotected rules.
Consider also that the owners of Scrabble do a lot of barging around,
claiming ownership of the design of their board (apart from any color
scheme, ornamentation or trademark).
Charles B. Kramer, Esq.
charles_kramer[_at_]compuserve.com
Received on Wed Nov 18 1998 - 18:38:23 GMT