The whole story of video game patents is pretty messed up from the get go.
Used to be that "You cannot patent an idea" was a core facet of the US patent code. So when Atari tried to patent breakout, they had their claim thrown out like three times.
Eventually they succeeded on two basis: one their code of the ball bouncing was NOT based on physics, therefore it was some unique "artistic" idea to have the ball bounce at exact angles without losing momentum. Not just, you know, a thousand times easier to code than real physics, it was "art."
Secondly, they claimed all the levels in the game, taken together, was itself a "work of art" and could be patented on that ground.
At that point in time, they still could not use the patent to stop breakout clones, or even games that straight up copied part of the game. They could only use the patent to prevent illegal distribution of the game Breakout.
From then on companies mostly focused on patenting their art. (Enter the highly litigious Nintendon't into the picture.)
Over the years the entire tech industry has pushed, and pushed and pushed the patent courts until "rounded corners on a cellphone" and "minigames on a loading screen" and "two grip buttons on the back side of a controller" are all patent trolled and enforceable, even as they clearly violate the concept of patenting an idea.
The whole story of video game patents is pretty messed up from the get go.
Used to be that "You cannot patent an idea" was a core facet of the US patent code. So when Atari tried to patent breakout, they had their claim thrown out like three times.
Eventually they succeeded on two basis: one their code of the ball bouncing was NOT based on physics, therefore it was some unique "artistic" idea to have the ball bounce at exact angles without losing momentum. Not just, you know, a thousand times easier to code than real physics, it was "art."
Secondly, they claimed all the levels in the game, taken together, was itself a "work of art" and could be patented on that ground.
At that point in time, they still could not use the patent to stop breakout clones, or even games that straight up copied part of the game. They could only use the patent to prevent illegal distribution of the game Breakout.
From then on companies mostly focused on patenting their art. (Enter the highly litigious Nintendon't into the picture.)
Over the years the entire tech industry has pushed, and pushed and pushed the patent courts until "rounded corners on a cellphone" and "minigames on a loading screen" and "two grip buttons on the back side of a controller" are all patent trolled and enforceable, even as they clearly violate the concept of patenting an idea.