A recent decision issued by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) concerning a patent application filed by a game developer company Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. (Bandai Namco) serves as a useful example for informing patent strategies on gameplay mechanics in the UK. Bandai Namco, as some may be aware, is the creator of games such as Pac-Man™ and Elden Ring™.
Overview of the UKIPO Bandai Namco Decision
Bandai Namco filed a patent application at the UKIPO related to a real-world game mechanic where players gather at a physical location. A server system initiates a “gathering event” at a real-world location (e.g., a restaurant), displays a map, tracks players’ locations, and determines success or failure of the event based on whether the players reached the real-world location. Rewards are subsequently provided in the game based on a gathering condition being met.
On April 30, 2025, the UKIPO issued a decision1 rejecting Bandai Namco’s patent application,2 finding that the invention did not provide a technical contribution and was therefore excluded under Section 1(2) of the Patents Act 1977. Despite the patent application describing the use of technologies (such as Global Positioning System (GPS), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), mobile devices, and networked systems), the UKIPO deemed that the invention amounted to a method of playing a game and a program for a computer—both of which are excluded categories under Section 1(2) of the Patents Act 1977.
Application of the Aerotel Test and AT&T Signposts
In the UK, even though certain subject matter (such as methods of playing a game and computer programs) is generally excluded from patentability, there may be an exception if an invention demonstrates a technical nature, provided other statutory requirements for patentability are also met. Bandai Namco contended that its invention had a technical character and should not be categorized as excluded subject matter.
The UKIPO employs a four-step test called the Aerotel/Macrossan test (the Aerotel Test) to determine whether a claimed invention falls within excluded subject matter. The below table lists the four steps and summarizes how the UKIPO applied the Aerotel Test in the Bandai Namco decision.
In addition, the UKIPO used the AT&T3 signposts to assess whether the claimed system (a computer-implemented invention) provided a technical contribution. The AT&T signposts may be summarized in the form of the following questions:
- Whether the claimed technical effect impacts a process occurring outside of the computer.
- Whether the claimed technical effect operates at the computer architectural level.
- Whether the claimed technical effect results in a computer functioning or operating in a new way.
- Whether the program improves the computer’s performance such as efficiency.
- Whether the claimed invention solves the perceived problem, rather than circumventing around the problem.
In the Bandai Namco decision, none of the AT&T signposts was considered by the UKIPO to have been satisfied. Specifically, the UKIPO found that the claimed invention did not produce a technical effect beyond merely facilitating gameplay.
Conclusion
The UKIPO Bandai Namco decision reinforces the need to carefully frame inventions when preparing patent applications directed to computer games involving real-world player interactions, in order to enhance patentability under UK patent law. For example, focusing on a technical contribution by identifying a technical problem and describing how the invention solves the problem, and further using the AT&T signposts (where applicable) to assess the area(s) in which the technical contribution is provided. Similar strategies may be leveraged for patenting gameplay inventions in other countries such as the U.S. and Europe, and further modified to account for each jurisdiction’s patent laws and patentability requirements.
Betty Yu contributed to the preparation of this alert.
