card game question

[westportmike]

What is the name of your state? WA

I would like to patent / register a card game my family has been playing for generations. How do I accomplish that? What research can be done to make sure it is not already done?

Thanks - Mike

 

[divgradcurl]

In general you cannot patent a game, as games are not generally considered "patentable subject matter." Sometimes specific parts of a game can be patented -- like perhaps a special algorithm in a computer game that does something unique and unexpected -- but the game itself cannot be patented.

The general IP protection for creative works -- which is generally where games fall -- is copyright. You can go to www.copyright.gov and search registered copyrights, and also look into registering your copyright yourself. Although copyright protection affixes itself automatically as soon as a creative work is "fixed in a tangible format," registration of the copyright provides significantly more protection via the enhanced remedies one can seek in the case of infringement down the road.