🎉 Celebrating 25 Years of GameDev.net! 🎉

Not many can claim 25 years on the Internet! Join us in celebrating this milestone. Learn more about our history, and thank you for being a part of our community!

Rights to "Chess"

Started by
3 comments, last by Brain 9 years, 3 months ago

Does anyone actually own the Rights to "Chess"? I see tons of Chess apps/programs/sites charging for chess games and I am unsure if such things are legal.

Coding Samples :: Tips :: Discussions :: Game Directory => Game Makers Forums Online RPG Creator
Advertisement

The game is hundreds of years old. The concept and the rules are fair game.

Beware of implementation details. Making a specific clone of a specific version, such as the popular BattleChess, is a different risk.

The oldest written references to the game of Chess date from before 600 AD, in Northern India or Afghanistan. Nobody owns it.

-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com

The oldest written references to the game of Chess date from before 600 AD, in Northern India or Afghanistan. Nobody owns it.

Impressive.

Coding Samples :: Tips :: Discussions :: Game Directory => Game Makers Forums Online RPG Creator

Be aware though that someone might own design of chess pieces, specific appearances of the Queen and knight piece etc, so be careful where you get art and models. Similarly the board will be OK if kept simple but if you copy a unique board from a different implementation of chess or a chess like game you may be lining yourself up for trouble.

This topic is closed to new replies.

Advertisement