Intellectual property protection for video games: A MDA framework-based analysis

Abstract

The gap between video games and copyright, an intellectual property (IP) right, is that the doctrinal copyright theories cannot explain the nature of the gameplay and game rules. The lack of a theoretical framework addressing the gameplay comprising abstract ideas and specific expressions has caused much confusion and uncertainty in the games industry and among legal practitioners across jurisdictions. This article explores whether the gameplay, a core value of the game, should be protected by copyright, patent or not protected at all. It employs a novel analytical framework based on Hunicke et al.’s theory of mechanic–dynamics–aesthetics, a game-designing theory, to analyse the IP legal nature of the gameplay and game rules. Based on the proposed analytical framework, it conducts a case study of three representative games, from aesthetics to mechanics, to demonstrate that dynamics as the game system consists of expressions of the game designer. Considering the cross-border nature of the development and trade of video games, this article undertakes a comparative study of IP law in the United Kingdom and China. It concludes that dynamics as the game system is expressive and can be protected by copyright.