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I have searched the internet and I have understood that copyright will cover the names and graphics of games while patents are for the idea/mechanics of the game.

My questions are:

  1. Am I right?
  2. If so how can be so many trading card games/collectible card games?
  3. What will be considered a "mechanic"? for example MTG has a specific mana system, if someone will be creating a game with same idea but will refer to it with other names such as "Ember" instead of "Fire" will it violate the patent?
  4. How do I know if certain patents are applied and when they expire? For example MTG is an old game, does the company still have patents on the game mechanics?
  5. If a game is patented in Country X and someone is printing the same game but with different art and names in country Y, will the one who prints in country Y could be exposed to a lawsuit? and if not will people in Country X can order from country Y the copied game?
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copyright will cover the names and graphics of games

The names of games are not protected by copyright, nor by patent. The names could be protected by trademark. Note that trademarks are specific to a country: what is trademarked in one country may well not be in another. Almost all countries have a way to search their trademark registries, often online. However in some countries, including the US, use of a name in commerce will confer some protection even without registration.

What will be considered a "mechanic"? for example MTG have specific mana system, if someone will be creating a game with same idea but will refer to it with other names such as "Ember" instead of "Fire" will it violate the patent?

Game mechanics are not protected by copyright. This includes all the procedures and rules of the game. The text used to express those rules may be protected, but often it is not if it is the most obvious way to describe the mechanics.

For example, in chess there are different pieces with different moves. That could not be protected by copyright, even if chess were a new game. In bridge the winner of each trick leads to the next. That could not be protected by copyright either, even if bridge were a new game (and contact bridge is just new enough that it could in theory be under copyright still).

How do i know if certain patents are applied and when they expire?

Most games are not protected by patent, but some are. Patents, like trademarks, are specific to a country. Each country has a way to search its list of active patents. Note that patents have a strict tiem limit, and they normally cannot be extended or renewed. I believe that the limit of a patent is currently 20 years in most countries. (It used to be 17 years in the US.)

If a game is patented in Country X and someone is printing the same game but with different art and names in country Y, will the one who print in country Y could be exposed to a lawsuit?

Unless the game is also patented in country Y, there will be no grounds for an infringement lawsuit inn Y. But importing the game into X may be patent infringement, and could expose the importer to a suit.

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    A patent could cover a newly invented piece of hardware that is used in the game. For example, if there were a new version of Frisbee golf that used a new flying disk that flies farther than any previously available flying disk, because the aerodynamic shape is better, that disk could be patented.
    – Gerard Ashton
    Dec 13, 2022 at 17:21
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    Great answer to an extensive question. Patents most everywhere, by treaty (GATT), now expire 20 years from initial filing. Before GATT the US term was 17 years from grant. In the case of an application with an average pendency of 3 years they have roughly the same effect. In no major country are terms “renewable” but most everywhere the term can be cut short by nonpayment of periodic fees that are called renewal fees in a significant number of countries.
    – George White
    Dec 13, 2022 at 17:36
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    The standard things that constitute infringement are making, using, selling, offering for sale, and importing. In the US importing a patent item without the ok from the patent owner is just as infringing as making it here, and easier to catch and put a stop to if done in volume.
    – George White
    Dec 13, 2022 at 17:36
  • @GeorgeWhite: I believe that is not correct re importation and patent law. See Impression v. Lexmark. This also applies to copyright, see Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons. In short: If you lawfully obtained an item (i.e. the item was made and sold with the authorization of the copyright/patent holder), then you can sell that item in the US without violating US copyright or patent law. Other countries may follow different rules, of course.
    – Kevin
    Dec 13, 2022 at 22:34
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    @Kevin But if an item is patented in the US, but not in Country X, and an instance is made in country X that would be infringing if made in the US (without any permission from the patent holder), then I believe that importing that instance into the US is also infringement. The making is lawful in that no patent is infringed in X, but not authorized. Do you disagree?
    – David Siegel
    Dec 13, 2022 at 23:01

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