The Intellectual Property Protection Of Desktop Games

As a creative industry emerged in China in recent years, table-top games develop rapidlywith its more and more obvious trend of homogenization, which is bound to become thebottleneck hindering industrial development. Table-top game has complicated constituentelements, including intellectual property elements. However, there are no specific, actionablecases or theories for such "new" object in the field of intellectual property protection as thelast bulwark of relief. It’s no doubt that it has important practical significance to study theintellectual property protection for desktop game, for the importance of the cultural andcreative industries in China’s socio-cultural and economic life.The purpose of this study is to provide ideas and methods to solve the intellectualproperty protection of the cultural and creative industries, after analysis thoroughly on theprotection of intellectual property of the table games, achieving the industry’s social andeconomic purposes. In addition to the introduction, this paper can be divided into four parts：The first part is an overview of the desktop game. It mainly introduces the concept of thelife horizon of table games, the difference between online games and table games and theindustrial development of the table-top games, laying a foundation for the commencement ofthe article.The second part is to subdivide the intellectual property elements of the table games.Firstly, reviewing and analyzing "San Guo Sha "v."San Guo Zhan" case, it leads to thepresent situation of the intellectual property protection for table games and theoreticalcontroversies. Secondly, it analysis the desktop game elements, of which can be protected asthe intellectual property subject, with emphasis on the controversial part of the analysis intheory and practice, restricting the range of the next part commencement.The third part is to discuss copyright law protection path and the protection ofcompetition law path of the desktop game within the range restricted in the second part. Onthe path of copyright law protection, it firstly discusses whether the table-top game canbecome the subject of the copyright from the originality theory and ideas/expressiondichotomy. Secondly, it puts forward the standard to judging the infringement, suggestingbringing in the principle of the overall concept and feel according to the characteristics of thedesktop game. On the path of competition law protection, it firstly analyzes the possible protection for the table games can be provided by China’s Anti-Unfair Competition Law andits uncertainty in application, and it emphases the flexibility in the identification of "knowncommodity" with the method of combining the characteristics of the industry. Secondly, itintroduces the provisions on “imitation” in German Law against Unfair Competition,recommending China should bring in the principle of prohibiting "slavish imitation".The fourth part is to think for the protection of intellectual property rights of table games.Does not provide, or just to provide intellectual property protection to a small extent, is notconducive to the development of table games of such cultural and creative industries.However, a strong intellectual property protection is also not conducive to the development ofthe industry, and is even contrary to the legislative purpose of intellectual property. Thus,from the restrictions of copyright expansion and the plight of "imitation" in competition law,it analyzes the difficulties of intellectual property protection and the solutions in order toprovide the opportunity for a theoretical discussion for the protection of the desktop game.