The expense of getting a patent for video game development keeps most from getting a patent on their work. Startups are usually not prepared to spend the $10,000 to $20,000 it’s going to cost to register a patent. It is mostly the larger platform holders, that will be filing for patents.

Video Game Law 101 with Zachary Strebeck
Zachary Strebeck is a California game lawyer who represents clients in the video game, tabletop game, and mobile app industries. In addition to his solo law practice, Zachary serves as Of Counsel to The McArthur Law Firm, where he counsels clients in business formation and fundraising issues, game development contracts, and the protection and enforcement of intellectual property.

In this CLE class video Zachary Strebeck discusses Video Game Patents.

You can watch the complete Video Game Law CLE class here:
Video Game Law CLE

For instance, Magnivox had a patent on Pong, which was the first video game. Ninetendo had a patent for their “Sanity Meter” within their game which would tell the player how sane, or insane their character is within the game.

A recent software patent case went all the way to the Supreme Court and held that a software patent needs to be more than implementing an abstract idea onto a computer; which limited the scope of what was patentable in software.