Theory and practice of intellectual property
№ 3 / 2021
ISSN (Print) 2308-0361
ISSN (Online) 2519-2744
PDF (Ukrainian)DOI: https://doi.org/10.33731/32021.239584
Published 2021-09-07
Video game in the system of intellectual property: the concept and features of legal protection
Anatolii Kodynets
Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0954-1474
Arsen Kodynets
Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2545-4968
Abstract
The article is devoted to the study of the legal understanding of video games as an object of intellectual property rights. The author concludes that video games constitute digital information, which greatly facilitates their development, however, complicates the protection of intellectual property rights. There is a contradictory connection between the concepts of «electronic (digital) information», «audiovisual work», «computer program» and «literary work», which establishes some uncertainty in the protection of video games, namely, what should be understood by these concepts in terms of law.
The author found that the use of the latest technologies to improve the visual component brings the video game even closer to the game audiovisual object, which increases the complexity of the process of protection of intellectual property rights. However, the current situation with the use of the term «computer program» in the context of protection of intellectual property rights to video games does not cover all features of the latter, covering only the main program among the software recording and operation of the game, such as audiovisual content. Therefore, there is a need to use the generalized concept of «software» as opposed to the narrower concept of «computer program». In this case, in the absence of at least one of the characteristics of the multimedia work, the computer program should be referred to the scope of legal regulation of software.
The author proposed to understand the video game as object of intellectual property law in the following manner: multimedia work expressed in the form of digital (electronic) information, the principle of which is determined by the algorithms of the software provided for installation in the memory of computer devices.
In general, the digital nature of video games presupposes a revision of existing approaches to the protection of intellectual property rights, which may be aimed at weakening the regulatory function of the law where it is possible to regulate the relationship by more flexible means.
Keywords: video game, intellectual property law, computer program, software, digital information, electronic information, multimedia work, audiovisual work
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