Chess offers countless game variations and inspiration for countless new ideas too. Sometimes these even result in inventions and creations that can be protected by a patent or design. Copyright also plays a role. We searched public databases for unusual chess-related items.
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Chess captures the minds of inventors
The World Chess Championship is in full swing in Singapore, with the final being contested by Ding Liren (China) and Gukesh Dommaraju (India). The game of kings has inspired many innovative and creative minds throughout history. We searched for some of the more unusual chess-related patents and designs. And can you protect a chess move?
The game of kings has always inspired inventors and creative minds. Copyright: Espacenet
1. Checkmate – patents protect against free riders
A registered patent grants the inventor exclusive use of the protected innovation for up to 20 years. There’s one condition – the invention must be new, solve a technical problem and be industrially applicable. When looking at our selected patent drawings, bear in mind that the requirements for inventions have changed over time. What was considered worthy of patent protection in the past may not be today. And some inventions that are not patentable everywhere in Europe are acceptable in the United States (e.g. games and game instructions). Also, the term of protection of some of the patents has long since expired. This means that anyone can now freely recreate these inventions.
Four-handed chess
When we searched the public patent databases, multiplayer chess games kept popping up. Many of them come from the United States. This example is designed for four players.
Beam me up, Black Knight!
This invention goes even further. It’s an eight-storey-high 3D chess set from 2011. Science fiction fans will know that Mr Spock played on a similar multilevel chessboard in the series ‘Star Trek’.
You spin me right round
This rotating chessboard looks challenging. We’d like to see how a game plays out on it.
Time for steadfast pieces
We want to play chess always and everywhere. That requires pieces that stay in place. Some inventors are thankfully providing more stable solutions. For example, pieces that have magnets underneath or that can be inserted into the board.
Stop the game from dragging on
Chess tournaments are not all that relaxed – at least not at professional level. The clock ticks as you think about your next move. Patent history has provided us with numerous clocks for timing meticulous moves – complete with attractive drawings. On the left, we see a table with a chessboard and an integrated clock. On the right, the inventor wants to prove that it’s also possible to play the game with a sandglass.
2. Design – you play with your eyes
Chess-related shapes and designs are also important. When it comes to the appearance of an object, design protection comes into play. In Switzerland, a design is protected for up to 25 years after entry in the design protection register.
1:0 for chess
This creation was inspired by the beautiful game. Each piece takes up a different position. The chessboard also features the lines of a football pitch.
Chess piece becomes part of the furniture
A clever idea. Here the chess piece serves as a table.
Battle of the skyscrapers
The designer of this object appears to have been inspired by famous buildings.
3. Copyright
Copyright protection applies automatically as soon as a work has been created. For most works, it applies for the author’s lifetime plus 70 years after their death (50 years for computer programs or photographic reproductions without individual character).
Unlike patents, trade marks and designs, there’s no register for works protected by copyright. Here are three examples of where copyright can come into play in chess:
Literature
This includes books, articles and other texts about chess, such as strategy guides, opening analyses and historical essays. They’re protected as literary, scientific or other linguistic works.
Software
For digital chess games, the basic situation is that software is not protected as such in Switzerland. Computer programs (e.g. for chess) may fall under copyright law if they’re of an individual nature. The code in particular is protected.
Moves
Chess moves or sequences are not protected by copyright per se. However, an extensive, creative commentary or analysis of a game, for example in the form of a book or video tutorial, may be protected by copyright if the text or content has individual character. In this case, however, it’s not the sequence of moves that’s protected, but the specific expression of how the game is analysed and described.
