W&L Law’s Seaman Publishes Article in Iowa Law Review Prof. Chris Seaman, along with coauthor Thuan Tran '21L, published “Intellectual Property and Tabletop Games.”
Prof. Chris SeamanWashington and Lee law professor Chris Seaman, along with recent law graduate Thuan Tran ’21L, has published an article in the Iowa Law Review. The article, “Intellectual Property and Tabletop Games,” examines the role of IP law in facilitating innovation in tabletop gaming, including board games, card games, and pen-and-paper role-playing games.
“Over the past several decades, the tabletop gaming industry has seen a proliferation of innovation, but there is surprisingly little in the academic literature about IP and tabletop games. IP rights, including patents, copyrights, and trademarks, each protect certain aspects of games, while at the same time being constrained by doctrinal limitations that leave considerable flexibility for others to develop their own games and adapt or improve upon existing ones. There are also numerous examples of user-based innovation in tabletop gaming. This Article concludes by contending that IP rights, as well as their limitations, play a significant role in facilitating the robust innovation presently occurring in the tabletop gaming field,” write Seaman and Tran.
The article is available online at the Iowa Law Review website.
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