Deckmaster and Hasbro question

I have a question: which are the licenced aspects of the game belonging to Hasbro? Tap and untap only?

I know changing mechanics is quite complex for a game, but I have read here that low profit was the reason behind CCP's choice of stoping production. So, would be ever possible to ged rid of hasbro's slice of the pie?

Here is a link to the Patent .

It is an interesting read.
On the right tab you can download the .PDF with the Patent Application.
Having worked in the European Patent Office in the Hague, that brings back memories...

BTW, the game system is iron clad.
Funny fact (obviously done by the Blue Blood's manipulation) the Ventrue are written as Venture in the description of the clans.
Also the whole thing about the illustrations is quite amusing.

Cheers!
Tiago,

Brum wrote:

Funny fact (obviously done by the Blue Blood's manipulation) the Ventrue are written as Venture in the description of the clans.
Also the whole thing about the illustrations is quite amusing.

Well, that explains the old "Venture Justicar" misspelling. Maybe it was also their manipulation that resulted in the Ventrue Justicar card awarding the Tremere Justicar title....

BTW: Regarding the "patent," it looks like it was filed June 22, 1994. The typical patent tends to last for 20 years, which means that it should lapse in 2014. (Wikipedia mentions a 1997 patent date, but the earlier patent might fall under the category of the old 17 year rule, so hopefully 2014 would still be the lapse date).

That of course assumes:

A. Some new function or discovery does not allow WotC to extend the patent (happens a lot in pharmaceuticals, seems less likely to happen with CCG's)

B. Would not cover "trademarks" such as DeckMaster (and maybe "tapping") or the "copyrights" of the WoD source material

If someone is an expert on IP, maybe they can confirm whether in just a couple years, the patent portion will no longer be a hurdle (which makes things slightly easier since WotC seemed to be the major bottleneck).

Brum wrote:

Here is a link to the Patent .

BTW, the game system is iron clad.

I'm not a lawyer but I'm not sure that the Deckmaster patent(s) -- there are three of them -- aren't overly-broad, and hence stifling innovation. At which point, someone who wished to enter into a legal battle with Hasbro should begin their campaign.

Personally, I really DO think the Deckmaster patents are overly-broad and could be smashed into nothingness with a proper legal challenge, but I have zero dollars with which to conduct a legal battle.