Capstone Project - IP and Copyright

The differences between Copyright, Patents and Trademarks -

Board games contain many assets from unique pieces, illustrations, titles and mechanics, and it's important to know how to protect your IP from potential copycats. Generally, the most popular way to secure IP is to place your work under a Copyright. Copyrights cover all artistic works such as illustrations and formats of your game, but not including your game's logo(Founders legal 2026)(Griffith 2024). Of the three options, Copyright, Patent and Trademark, Copyrights are the easiest to obtain [Within the UK] with all physical versions of the game immediately falling under copyright upon its creation. To secure it further, Consider uploading the manual and details of your game to Boardgamegeek to create dated proof of your game under your business name(Board Game Bonkers 2023).

Patents aren't usually necessary when it comes to board games, they're usually quite pricey to obtain and only cover unique physical assets such as unique game pieces or if your game has any physical unique mechanics [built into the board, not pertaining to the rules](Founders legal 2026) (Board Game Bonkers 2023). Cases of a patent being used would be Monopoly creating a patent for their player pieces, this stops any other game company from being able to use those specific elements (Board Game Bonkers 2023). You can only patent things that are new, and as you aren't allowed to patent game mechanics, there isn't much point in applying for one (Board Game Bonkers 2023).

Outside of just general copyright protection, Trademarks may also be quite important for ensuring your game's safety. Trademarks are used to protect "Brand identifiers" such as your company's name, its logo, or anything else pertaining to your company's identity(Founders legal 2026). This also extends to slogans and specific designs your product uses(Griffith 2024). Once again, this does not extend to game mechanics.

Even without registering for any kind of copyright or Trademark, all products are immediately protected under the UK's Common Law (this, and the three options above are only applicable to the UK if registered within the UK) (Board Game Bonkers 2023). Common law dictates that companies cannot use your name to pass of their own goods as yours, this protects brand reputation and avoids scams. While it does not stop them from using your name or goods, it does stop them from direct impersonation (O'toole 2023).

How to apply for a Trademark -

Should you wish to apply for a trademark, you must contact the IPO (Intellectual property office) within the UK and send off any and all details of the IP you wish to trademark , this being your logo, slogan or other brand identifiers(GOV.UK n.d.). You will have to pay a small fee to register a trademark, usually around £170 and this lasts for 10 years (If approved) and can be renewed at the end of the 10 year period (GOV.UK n.d.). It is to note that if you do register a trademark within the UK, it will only protect your brand within the UK and Isle of Man, to register a trademark globally, you will need to file a trademark request through an international trademark filing service(GOV.UK n.d.).

Trello -

This post completes MLO4 containing IP and copyright, NDA agreement and time management. My next research topic of high importance is job role and software considerations, which I will try to complete in the following week. During that time I will be continuing on with my furniture thumbnails and putting together a Prototype to begin playtesting my game. I anticipate the prototyping stage to only take around an hour to make, and I will try to do at least 3 run throughs of the game to gather feedback on what to change. This should only take a day at most to do, however I will have to repeat this process again in the future to iron out any future problems. I am feeling confident that I can get this complete and continue to work on creating artwork.

Bibliography -

Anon, N.d., Register a trade mark (Online). Gov.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/how-to-register-a-trade-mark (Accessed at: 23 January 2026)

Founders Legal, 2026. How to Legally Protect your Board Game with Intellectual Property Law (Online). Founders Legal. Available at:  https://founderslegal.com/if-youre-making-your-own-board-game-how-do-you-protect-your-idea-2/ (Accessed at: 23 January 2026)

Griffith, P., 2024. The Difference Between TM And Copyright: How to Protect Your Business (Online). The Legal Paige. Available at: https://thelegalpaige.com/blogs/blog/difference-between-a-trademark-copyright?srsltid=AfmBOopSyker3qpvo5G69xw8CbkW_36m8oaLYljKsz8kROYyo89Rd9fr (Accessed at: 23 January 2026)

O'Toole, S., 2023. Unregistered Trade Marks In The UK: What Protection Do You Have? (Online). Briffa. Available at: https://www.briffa.com/blog/unregistered-trade-marks-in-the-uk-what-protection-do-you-have/ (Accessed at: 23 January 2026)

Your Rights - Protecting Your Board Game Design, 2023. [Youtube] Board Game Bonkers. October 14. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsWfC3p2MtA&t=34s (Accessed at: 23 January 2026).