> > The Times has no issue with individuals creating similar word games that do not infringe The Times’s “Wordle” trademarks or copyrighted gameplay.
Can you really copyright “gameplay”?
This seems like pointless bullying by the Times, who is probably just upset they haven’t got a positive ROI on their acquisition of a free game.
[1] https://www.afr.com/technology/why-on-earth-did-the-new-york... [2] https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&ge...
[Edit: And, nearly two years on, they say they get "millions" of players per day, and they've assigned a dedicated Wordle editor and write articles about the game frequently. (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/17/upshot/wordle-bot-year-in...). They're definitely not having buyer's regret.]
Free games on Epic Store don't make me buy games on Epic Store. I just claim the free goodies and buy on Steam.
Indeed. I know this from TV, grew up with it. Was a fun educative program back in the days.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingo_(American_game_show)#/me...
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/intellectual_property_law....
https://kotaku.com/nintendo-is-trying-to-patent-some-really-...
Bruce E. Boyden
https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?ar...
In any case, Wordle is too damn easy. Don't think I've ever lost. I recommend sedecordle for word enjoyers
I still do "where taken", which is photos of countries, tradle for oec trade commodities and guess the game for video games. They're all far more interesting than guessing some random word.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC0kie6dPjo
Maybe the copyright is on the colors on the game field?
Any clone that derives their own word list is probably fine, but any clone that copy/pastes the exact word lists from wordle (especially the shorter list of 2,315 possible solutions) is probably infringing copyright.
However, to be copyrightable, the arrangement has to be expressive, i.e., it must "possess the requisite originality because the author . . . chooses . . . in what order to place them."
My strong suspicion is that Wordle's word list is randomized. Not a chosen expression of the author.
So this is referring to trademark (the name Wordle) and copyright — but not patent. It makes sense to go after people who are using the same actual name, since this clearly infringes the trademark, and because if you do not enforce ("police") your mark against minor players, you can end up losing the ability to enforce it against major players.
But the copyright bit is a bit novel from my perspective (lawyer, but not copyright lawyer). If you had asked me what a copyright claim about Wordle would be about, I would have said the precise code. I might have wondered about the specific word lists, even though these would probably fail the "phone book" test (don't remember the case, but these were deemed uncopyrightable). I never would have thought about the tile layout and color scheme. That seems more like what I think of as "trade dress" [1] or perhaps something related to patent (which wouldn't apply here, unless the original Wordle owner had filed for patents a long time ago.
Are there any copyright lawyers who can elucidate how the tile layout and color scheme might be subject to copyright law? I assume the NYT has good lawyers, and has thought long and hard before going after folks on github...
https://www.reddit.com/r/onlyconnect/comments/169j2p4/have_y...
https://patents.google.com/patent/US5662332A/en , claims 4, 5, and 6 - expired in 2014. The actual symbol is also a copyright and trademark, I believe, but right now other games can us the 90 degree rotation.
(Disney's Lorcana, for example, uses 90 degree rotation and calls it 'exerting' a card.)
I’m skeptical that there’s any valid legal claim there, but if it is more legitimate than well-funded big-corp lawyer bullying, it’s either a trademark claim or a claim that any game with a card-refresh mechanic called “tapping” must be a derivative work of MTG for copyright purposes.
It is simply "our name in your face, on a regular basis, for years" advertising, at a global scale.
Case in point : here we all are, thinking and talking about the NYT.
That is the ROI.
NY Times issues DMCA takedowns of Wordle clones - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39618193 - March 2024 (44 comments)
Or my other game https://redactle.net which sounds ever so similar to wordle so you had better send your lawyers.
Or what about https://memorycardsgame.com - I mean it has a grid layout so surely that must be copyrighted too.
I will file any complaints into my computers /dev/null disk.
You can also see in the downloads there IS support for the game boy clone megaduck laptop that has a keyboard, if you have one of those.
In Spanish media it was usually called "Deducción".
Link in Spanish as proof:
http://pasatiemposmatematicosdelaprensa.blogspot.com/2013/10...
The last puzzle it's from 1999.
https://web.archive.org/web/20230709023951/https://www.teleg...
Er, sorry; an “experience” company.
No, what I find objectionable about the NYT games team, such as their spelling bee puzzle, is that they selectively deem certain words not valid responses. Not curse words or words with no redeeming value, but words that are perceived to be derogatory against disadvantaged groups or "offensive". It's like an extension of the hyper sensitive liberal newsroom.
Fine, it's a private organization and their choice. But it reflects in my mind a hijacking of the language by people oversensitized to the point of ridiculousness.
The _game_ won't accept responses of such a nature? That doesn't sound too bad.
These word games are for casual fun and enjoyment.
It's really not a big deal whether a particular word is included or not in the dictionary for a particular game. For Spelling Bee, the levels appear to be calculated based on the word list, so while it may be a little frustrating that a particular real (albeit off-colored, so to speak) word isn't accepted, rest assured that that doesn't doesn't affect the puzzle's difficulty. So no harm done. IMO, if some particular word removes more fun than it adds, good riddance.
Personally, I was most offended when "ichor" was not accepted, though I'm happy to say their reporting mechanism seemed to work, because it seems to be accepted now at least in the pangram game.
#/media/File:Lingopuzzle.svg){kind=link}