电子游戏规则的著作权保护探析

An Analysis of Copyright Protection for Electronic Game Rules

摘要: 电子游戏规则是电子游戏的核心要素。我国现行法律体系尚未就游戏规则抄袭行为进行规制，加之权利主体对知识产权保护的意识不强，导致相关权益维护存在现实困境，游戏规则被换皮抄袭的现象层出不穷。对此，首先应灵活适用思想表达二分法，认可符合作品构成要件的具体规则构成作品，其次应根据具体游戏的类型选择合适的保护模式，同时灵活适用兜底条款，最后运用综合抽象测试与数值设计评估相结合的方法判断电子游戏规则是否遭受侵权。

Abstract: Electronic game rules are the core elements of video games. In China’s current legal system, there is no regulation governing the plagiarism of game rules. Coupled with insufficient awareness of intellectual property protection among rights holders, there are practical difficulties in safeguarding related rights and interests, leading to rampant reskinning plagiarism of game rules. To address this issue, first, we should flexibly apply the idea-expression dichotomy principle by recognizing specific rules that meet the requirements of copyrightable works as protected creations. Second, appropriate protection models should be selected based on specific game genres while making flexible use of catch-all provisions. Finally, a combined approach of comprehensive abstraction test and numerical design evaluation should be employed to determine whether infringement has occurred in electronic game rules.