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Falcon Chess: Background and Patent Text Excerpts. With background summary of chess variants.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Larry Smith wrote on Fri, Nov 14, 2008 09:38 AM UTC:
You cannot claim rights to elements published prior to your patent.

For example, those elements which resemble the Mad Queen variant(FIDE) are not yours to claim. The ability of a piece to make conditional steps to a destination are also not yours(see Edgar Rice Burroughs' Chessmen of Mars). The particular destinations for a piece are not yours to claim(see Bison). The playing fields are not yours to claim(see various published games for this).

You may only claim the specific piece. And though it has been given a name, you cannot restrict the use of a common word(that's why most patents use constructed words to denote a proprietary item).

You may want to consult a lawyer. You may have wasted both time and money obtaining this patent. You could simply have published the concept with little or no cost and received the same amount of recognition(or potential profit).