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Hi, not sure where to post this, nor if this has already been discussed but I've been working on an idea for a TTWargame since I was a boy in school and I have a ton of ideas. I've spoken to a few folks around (mainly players and friends) and they love my ideas for my story. I'd like to share these ideas but I'm bit cautious to share with anonymous people online in case my specific ideas are stolen. Is there any way to trademark or protect my ideas or such before discussing them or such?

Also my game relies heavily on real-world mythology and folk tales. I know I can't Trademark a Myth or Folk Tale, but am I able to TM my interpretation of a Mythology/Folk Tale?

The frequency of stolen ideas in the gaming world is, frankly, near non-existent. The bulk of work in a game is not the idea, but the actual development and implementation. Everyone has ideas; not everyone writes them down and develops them into a game or novel, etc.

Trademarks are "typically a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these elements". (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark). So a whole setting idea isn't really something for a trademark; the name of that setting might be more appropriate for that.

What you should be thinking more of is copyright, which applies to pretty much anything you write that is original text (that is, not giant quotes of other works). Every country has slightly different laws there, but generally it's more or less automatic to claim copyright, though for deeper legal protection there are different forms, etc. depending on what country you're in (I'm in the USA so not familiar with others).

As for integrating myth, folk-tales, and so on, yes, you can still copyright something that retells any of that, so long as it's your own words in the retelling.

Edit: and you wouldn't be the first to incorporate/re-tell/re-imagine myths in a game setting. There are plenty out there. Heck, I've been doing actual development on a game of my own for about 3 years now that's heavily drawing from Norse, Greek, Slavic, and Celtic myth. I've even run playtests of it at a couple of local conventions, but nobody's "stolen" the idea (even though I've gotten lots of positive feedback on it), because actually making a game is a lot of work. Especially if you're nuts like me and want to do a miniatures game and publish it yourself and also make your own line of models.

My advice is just start writing. In most countries, copyright protection is pretty automatic. There are some good boardgame design forums on Reddit where you can get lots of useful advice, find some playtesters, etc. etc.

Appreciated. Maybe copyright was the term I was looking for thanks!

I get ya! I'll look into it more in the UK, just so I get more across. My idea are a bit more on the nose but still distinct enough to be it's own idea, especially some of the Races/Factions I have in mind

Mechanics can not be protected, and if the mythological names and such are common use you might run into issues there as well.

Specific names (see GW's current trends) are better candidates for something like this.

However, to be a Game Designer on must make games that people play. Everything else is cart before the horse.

 Easy E wrote:
Mechanics can not be protected, and if the mythological names and such are common use you might run into issues there as well.

Specific names (see GW's current trends) are better candidates for something like this.

However, to be a Game Designer on must make games that people play. Everything else is cart before the horse.

Yup. Don't try to trademark "Dryad," for example. That won't fly. Now, you can absolutely copyright your particular description of a Dryad, but, as I mentioned, trademark and copyright are two different beasts.

Also, good point about mechanics. You can't trademark or patent game mechanics. You can (and kind of automatically do) copyright your description of said mechanics (for the most part, anyway... trying to claim a copyright infringement on wording like "each player rolls 1d6 and the highest roll wins initiative" is going to not only get you laughed out of court, but also gain lots of derision from everywhere else), but you can't try to sue someone (and likewise, won't be sued) for using that mechanic.

If you genuinely believe you have something that could be swiped by an unscrupulous operator with whom you must share that concept etc., (an artist, sculptor, editor, etc), you can require them to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Numerous legal aid organisations offer ones that you can freely download, but be sure to check it applies in your jurisdiction.

In order to register a copyright or a trademark in most jurisdictions also requires the item in question to be some degree of published/in use or otherwise "finalized" (i.e. ready for publication/use), and not just some nebulous idea that you have shared with your schoolmates. "Intent to use" registrations on unpublished works can be made but usually come with additional fees, filing requirements, and a generally higher bar for registration, and often more limited protection (harder to prove someone stole your idea if they don't know it exists) to avoid trolls from registering anything/everything imaginable in order to collect fees from others who want to use things legitimately.

Long story short, in all likelihood nobody is going to steal your ideas and its probably a waste of money and time to go through the process of trying to protect yourself for something that is probably still deep in the amateur development stage. If your IP is also based on existing myths and folklore then theres additional barriers in your way as that stuff is all firmly in the public domain and your ability to protect even your interpretation of those myths will be limited unless you're making significant and unique changes to things like names and appearances which you can define as being uniquely your own - in which case it doesn't really stop anyone from stealing your interpretation of the plot of those stories, just the characterizations and appearances of the relevant plot elements.

 The Warp Forge wrote:
Appreciated. Maybe copyright was the term I was looking for thanks!

I get ya! I'll look into it more in the UK, just so I get more across. My idea are a bit more on the nose but still distinct enough to be it's own idea, especially some of the Races/Factions I have in mind

'On the nose but distinct enough' is a _really_ hard sell, especially for mythology- it reads like an oxymoron. I mean, it isn't something that you'll ever lose access to (since myth is public domain by default), but it can be worth just paging through keywords on DeviantArt, Instagram and etc to see if its really as distinct as you think it is.