Soumik Choudhury, Jindal Global Law School
ABSTRACT
This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of copyright issues pertaining to video games, with a specific focus on the Indian legal framework. It aims to explore the various facets of copyright protection in video games, addressing the challenges posed by their unique characteristics. The objective of the study is to identify the distinct copyrightable elements within video games and assess how they are protected under Indian copyright law. By examining the individual components that make up video games, this paper aims to provide a clear understanding of the scope and nature of copyright protection afforded to this form of interactive media. Additionally, the paper delves into the complex question of authorship in video games. It examines played by both the creators and the players, considering their contributions to the overall interactive experience. The study further scrutinizes whether video games satisfy the elements of originality and how their creative expression is evaluated under copyright law. Lastly the paper investigates the intricacies of infringement in the context of video games. It examines the idea- expression dichotomy and the challenges of determining whether two games can coexist with similar expressions if the underlying ideas are inseparable from their respective expressions.
Keywords: Copyright, Videogames, Intellectual Property, Gaming, Copyright Infringement.
