An old game show was copied by Wordle, and a copyright lawyer explains why it's acceptable.

The creator of Wordle, a word-guessing game that has become a social media sensation, sold the app to The New York Times for a seven-figure sum in just a few months.

Someone thought of a game like this before, but it's still surprising.

In January, the online game Wordle, created by software developer Josh Wardle, gained popularity and was compared to the old game show "Lingo" due to its gameplay and colored boxes.

The television show "Lingo" differs from "Wordle" in that players receive the first letter of each word to start, while "Wordle" uses green and yellow boxes instead of red and yellow.

In the mid-1980s, "Lingo" ran for less than a year in syndication and then aired over 400 episodes on the Game Show Network between 2002 and 2011. Now, with the popularity of Wordle, CBS has announced a reboot of the show, hosted by RuPaul, though the network claims the reboot was in development before the launch of Wordle.

So what does this mean for everyone’s favorite new word-game obsession?

Nothing to worry about

The Daily Mail, New York Post, and social media users have raised concerns about the similarities between Wordle and "Lingo," with some questioning if the game is infringing on the copyright of the game show or if Wardle and The New York Times could face legal issues.

Bruce Boyden, a professor at Marquette University Law School who specializes in copyright and internet law, believes that Wardle and The New York Times should not be overly concerned about a potential copyright infringement lawsuit.

Boyden remarks, "Probably, they have nothing to worry about there."

According to him, games, including online games like Wordle, board games, and video games, are challenging to patent or copyright due to their classification as intellectual property.

Intellectual property consists of three main areas: patents, copyrights, and trademarks, as Boyden explains.

According to Boyden, patents can cover the apparatus used to play a game, such as the software in this case. However, Wordle is not a television game show, and the software code Wardle developed to build his game could bear no possible similarity to a TV show. Therefore, there's no likely patent claim to be made.

The trademark for Wordle doesn't cover the name or logo, so there is no issue with it being different from "Lingo."

According to Boyden, copyright only safeguards the way a creative work, such as a game, is communicated to the public, but not the underlying concept or general format.

Games are ‘not copyrightable’

In a scholarly article published in the George Mason Law Review in 2011, Boyden argued that games are not copyrightable due to their existence at the boundary of intellectual property law.

The specific design elements of a game, such as Monopoly's colored properties and game tokens, can be copyrighted. However, the broader concept of a board game where players roll a dice and move around a board with 10 squares on each side and pay money when landing on properties cannot be copyrighted.

Boyden discusses the issue of online knock-offs of Hasbro's Scrabble, such as Scrabulous, which agreed to change its name following a 2008 lawsuit. However, Hasbro has not been able to go after most knock-offs, including Zynga's Words with Friends, despite their similar gameplay styles.

Boyden claims that Hasbro lacks a valid copyright to protect against the creation of any crossword-style board game that involves placing letters for points, despite the games' similarity to Scrabble's style of play.

Although "Lingo" existed, Wardle was still legally allowed to create a game that involved guessing five-letter words using a grid of letters. Boyden notes that both games' grid design is likely too simple and not unique enough to be protected under a copyright.

Copyright law safeguards creative works such as songs, books, buildings, and software, but it does not shield instructions, specifically in the context of games, where the rules or gameplay mechanics are concerned.

Cooking recipes cannot be copyrighted, but a chef can trademark their brand name, according to Boyden.

Boyden states that while creativity may be involved in designing a cake, it cannot be copyrighted. However, adding anecdotes or color to a recipe can be copyrighted. Similarly, game rules are also not copyrightable.

Clone wars

The success of Wordle has led to the creation of numerous Wordle-like apps and online games, which are unlikely to face legal risks due to the same logic that applies to Wardle and The New York Times.

Numerous new online games and mobile apps have emerged recently, targeting word-game enthusiasts who are seeking an alternative to Wordle. Quordle offers a challenging experience where players must guess four different words simultaneously, while Absurdle provides an unpredictable gameplay experience with a changing mystery word based on your guesses.

Wordle and The New York Times may have limited options to address clones and imitations of their game, as long as these games do not use the name Wordle in their own titles. The most probable area of intellectual property protection that Wordle could pursue against knockoff games is trademark infringement, according to Boyden. The New York Times already filed for a trademark on the name Wordle with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office on February 1st.

Wordle is already receiving assistance in safeguarding its name from Big Tech. Although Wordle does not have a mobile app, several copycat apps were launched under the name "Wordle." These apps were subsequently removed by Apple to prevent users from being misled into downloading an official Wordle app. One of the clone creators, who attempted to monetize the game with a fake app, even publicly apologized after Apple removed his app.

The value of the trademark protection for the name 'Wordle' in the game is likely the most valuable asset for its creator, Josh Wardle, says Boyden. This is likely the main reason The New York Times bought the game directly from its creator rather than joining the ranks of copycats.

They could have created their own five-letter word guessing game and published it instead.

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