Is a procedure or method able to be patented?

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CruelBus

Guest
I can't be very specific in the details, but I am looking for input about the subject of patenting code or coding methods in general.

The procedure/method is not currently in any game I am working on, but will be inside the next game I work on. I will have to create a workflow AI system (expert system really, so not an actual AI) that would handle... well... imagine writing the code for the Amazon warehouse robots and the servers that deploy them.

Is such a creation able to be patented in all or in part? I mean, certainly you can't patent the idea of "using a set of human or computer generated instructions passed to an electro-mechanical object to facilitate automated...." but perhaps the way in that you do it or for an industry specific purpose?

I ask because I KNOW that certain organizations would very much want the system I develop to use in their own operations, and I'd be happy to let them... for a fee.

Yes? No? Maybe so?

Thanks!
 
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Joe Ellis

Member
I'm not sure, but maybe if you wrote and posted a letter about it to yourself and got a timed and dated receipt of it you could use it to sue any companies that steal your idea, proving that you came up with it before they did or have evidence of.. I think that's all copyrighting boils down to, not sure about patenting though. Sorry if this is no use lol
 

curato

Member
anything you write is copyrighted for sure. But if you come up with a new algorythm that no one came up with before and and you want to detail it out sure you could get a patent. It just gives you a limited window in which to use it before it is fair game because you detailed it out. You might want to contact a lawyer if you are sure you have something there.
 

curato

Member
The word-for-word code is, but the principles behind it are not, there's a big big difference here.
I go on to say that actually. As the algorythm could be patentable if you can prove no one ever did it before, but that is a steep hill to climb.
 
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CruelBus

Guest
@Rob I'm not sure I'm prepared to go all branchless programming yet. Maybe I could macro "if" to be replaced by "should"
 
I go on to say that actually. As the algorythm could be patentable if you can prove no one ever did it before, but that is a steep hill to climb.
It's more against plain stealing (industrial espionnage), than anything. I THINK this was law was decided after the 10NES lawsuit from Nintendo -> Atari in the 80's, where Atari just plain stole and copy-pasted the CIC protection code.
Had Atari given itself the trouble of refactoring and cleaning up the code a little bit, they'd maybe have gotten away with it.
 

Yal

šŸ§ *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
The company behind the Nemesis system got a patent for that quite recently, but it's as much design work as it is algorithmic work so it's still in a grayzone.

Heck, basically anything related to IP law is a grayzone. If you want a black/white answer, ask a lawyer (and they'll probably just give you a shade of gray anyway)
 
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