网络游戏规则著作权保护路径研究

A Study on the Copyright Protection Path of the Rules of Online Games

摘要: 网络游戏“换皮”抄袭现象频发，其核心在于对游戏规则的复制，但游戏规则能否获得著作权保护，在理论与实务界尚存分歧。本文旨在探讨网络游戏规则的可版权性及其著作权保护路径。研究认为，尽管存在“思想”与“表达”的争议，但网络游戏规则作为开发者智力劳动的结晶，当其在具体规则层面达到一定独创性高度时，能够构成著作权法意义上的独创性表达，具备可版权性。在保护模式上，当前司法实践主要存在两种路径：一是将游戏整体画面认定为视听作品，对游戏规则进行间接保护；二是依据《著作权法》中“符合作品特征的其他智力成果”这一兜底条款，对满足条件的游戏规则进行直接保护。间接保护路径虽在司法实践中较为普遍，但难以全面覆盖游戏规则的核心价值；而直接保护路径更能契合网络游戏的集合性与交互性特征，实现对游戏规则的全方位、高效率保护。因此，建议在明确区分思想与表达的基础上，优先采用将符合独创性要求的网络游戏规则直接纳入“其他智力成果”进行保护，以期在激励创新与维护公平竞争之间寻求平衡，促进网络游戏产业的健康发展。

Abstract: The frequent occurrence of “skin-changing” plagiarism in online games centers on the replication of game rules. However, whether game rules can be protected by copyright remains a point of contention in both theoretical and practical circles. This paper aims to explore the copyrightability of online game rules and the corresponding paths for their copyright protection. The study argues that despite the dispute over “idea” and “expression”, online game rules, as the intellectual achievement of developers, can constitute original expression under copyright law when they reach a certain level of originality at the level of specific rules, thereby possessing copyrightability. Regarding protection models, current judicial practice mainly features two paths: one is to recognize the overall game screen as an audiovisual work, thereby providing indirect protection for game rules; the other is to directly protect qualifying game rules based on the catch-all provision of “other intellectual achievements that have the characteristics of a work” in the Copyright Law. This paper analyzes that while the indirect protection path is relatively common in judicial practice, it struggles to fully cover the core value of game rules. In contrast, the direct protection path better aligns with the integrative and interactive nature of online games, enabling comprehensive and efficient protection of game rules. Therefore, it is suggested that, based on a clear distinction between idea and expression, priority should be given to directly incorporating online game rules that meet originality requirements into the “other intellectual achievements” category for protection. This aims to strike a balance between encouraging innovation and maintaining fair competition, thereby promoting the healthy development of the online game industry.