How is protected a programme related to a new video game?
Making a deposit at the SIAE, initially in the register of “inedited works”, and, following its publication, in the “Software Public Registry”, can protect the created programme. To proceed, the source code must be recorded on a CD ROM, a detailed description highlighting all the characteristics of the programme must be prepared, the name of the owner must be indicated and also the title of the software.
The deposit, to be done before the publication, must be kept secret, whilst the deposit done later is public and anyone can ask to extract a copy of the deposited documents. This form of protection concerns the programme so intended in a side sense, both as a programme per se and as a preparatory part and also relatively to its “interface”, or the way in which it gets visualized by the user, who is in fact a direct consequence of the code of the same programme.
In the specific case, however, as the software relates to a video game, it is possible that the screen window seen by the user is particularly innovative even from another point of view, and particularly in the graphic aspect, animations or other analogue findings. If it is so, besides depositing the programme as previously said, it is advisable to make a specific deposit related to the characters, the graphic and the animations, so that nobody could use them by maybe applying them in different software.
The cost of these forms of protection is quite reasonable and it is absolutely advisable making use of them.