The protectability of game mechanics: some enlightenment from China’s perspective

Abstract

Throughout the history of game design and development, ‘skin-changing’ games (also known as game clones) have been a bit of a sore point in the industry. Once a game has done well in the market, similar games will soon appear and these imitations will differ only in terms of changing the art and music style. This is most common in games where the main selling point is the game mechanics. As the number of skin-changing games grows, it has become increasingly difficult for small independent developers to survive in the game development market. Among other things, the ambiguity of the law is one of the most important reasons for this phenomenon. A fundamental principle of copyright is that protection is limited to expressions; ‘ideas, procedures, methods of operation or mathematical concepts as such’ are excluded, which makes it difficult for game mechanics to be protected by law. In addition, due to the cross-border nature of the Internet, skin-changing games are often made available across multiple countries, and different approaches to legal interpretation can bring about different standards of protection where game mechanics are concerned. This article examines the evolution of game mechanics protection in China. It is hoped that the phenomenon of skin-changing games can be contained to a certain extent, whether in China or globally.