ABSTRACT
Trademark is the second major legal apparatus that can protect a number of video game elements, especially its brand. Trademarks are usually registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office and provide protection from other "brands" trying to use similar marks that would cause consumer confusion. Patents are exclusive proprietary rights granted by the government to the owner of a claimed invention. Patents are enormously valuable in the video game industry. A major difference between copyrights and patents, for the most part, is that copyright law does not protect against reverse engineering. The wide scope of software protections afforded through patent law has shaped the industry. Because everything from gameplay innovation to hardware upgrades can be patented, patent litigation shaped video game development since Pong was released in 1972. Sports video games are not the only arena where the industry runs into right-of-publicity issues.
