I've just been having a stimulating discussion with the designer of the concept for one of the games in Debian - spellcast. This was started with the intention of trying to negotiate a licence change for spellcast, so it can stay in main.
The issue was raised of the legal claim game designers have over implementations of their game design - beyond any copyright (reproduction of a description of game rules, for instance) trademarks (calling your game 'Monopoly') or patents on the game mechanics. If there is a valid legal claim, Debian could find itself in some poop if someone decided to come and claim ownership of some of the game concepts in Debian, depending on how "argumentative" they wanted to get. For the record, I can't think of any specific legal claim which could be made, but I'm no lawyer. Since the issue has been raised, I thought I'd bring it to the 'mavens' of d-legal, for a "frank and open exchange of viewpoints", and perhaps a palm-off onto SPI's legal beagles for a more studied opinion on the matter, if it is deemed appropriate. So, what does everyone think? Is there any branch of law which could give the person or company that thought up how to play a game a claim against a separate, not-otherwise-infringing implementation of such a game? - Matt
