Retro Gaming Australia

Everybody knows Breakout, the 1976 puzzler which took Pong, turned it on its side and put you up against a brick wall. It was even worked on, briefly, by Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. However, did you know that Atari had a hell of a time trying to copyright it?

In 1989, Atari brought legal action against the Register of Copyrights Ralph Oman to challenge his refusal to grant them copyright over the game. Oman wrote in a letter that Breakout was not copyrightable due to the fact its “wall, ball, and paddle were ‘simple geometric shapes and coloring'” and that not enough “authorship” went into its production.

The case went back and forth, the district court granting a motion in the register’s favour, which was reversed on appeal. Then the process was repeated.

In the end, Atari got its way. Future Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg ruled that “the ball’s path in BREAKOUT varies depending on which of four sections of the paddle it hits. Its trajectory does not follow from the laws of physics.” This proved enough for the work to be considered “creative” and the case was remanded back to the register for renewed consideration.

Source: Patent Arcade