Protecting a word puzzle?

[Alistair]

I have thought of a particular type of word puzzle, which as far as I can see so far, nobody else has done before.

It is of the type that you see in newspapers etc on the puzzle page with sudoku, crosswords, word wheels etc.

Is there a way of protecting this? or even calling it something then registering it? For example does somebody "own" dingbats or as it is just a puzzle is it just free for all to use?

What would be a logical way for me to progress this idea? - it is a puzzle virtually everyone can play young and old, is simple to understand (ie the "rules") but takes a bit of logic and trial and error to answer. It can be made easier or harder but still using the same rules, so it could be an interesting venture.

I could easily write a book of them and see what happens? But would like to hear if someone has any good advice for this type of thing...

Hope you can help, any thoughts or advice much appreciated.

Rgds
Alistair

[Stonelaughter]

Any idea can be patented or your copyright of it recorded as long as no-one has done it before. To record your copyright, agree with a solicitor to send a copy of the idea to them in a sealed envelope. To register a patent, look to the Patent Office website for info. You need to ensure that your puzzle's name is original and not used elsewhere in that industry; for instance you'd be on dodgy ground calling it "Soduko" because it's sufficiently similar to "Sudoku" that the owners of that trademark would start twitching.