The New York Times has continued its efforts to protect the Wordle word puzzle game by targeting Reactle. Reactle is an open-source project allowing people to create games like Wordle. The NYT bought Wordle in 2022 and has since been taking down copycat games. This latest move by the NYT is more far-reaching than previous actions.
Reactle offered instructions and starting codes for people who wanted to make their own games like Wordle. Because people copied Reactle’s code almost 1,900 times on Github, the takedown could affect many other games. This includes games that have different themes, like a game for guessing Pokemon names or a game for guessing colors.
The issue is that there is no guarantee that this is legal for NYT to do. The core of the dispute lies in the NYT’s assertion of copyright ownership. Their DMCA takedown notices argue that they own not just the “Wordle” name but also the fundamental game mechanics, including the 5×6 letter grid and the use of green tiles to indicate correct letter placement. This is like Pokémon having a claim over all monster-hunting games; it’s too broad to claim. Basic game mechanics are often not considered eligible for copyright protection.
Some people worry that the takedown of Reactle could discourage fans of Wordle from creating their own variations of the game. It could also make it harder for new and independent game creators to develop similar games. This is something that has to go to a court system to be verifiable as legally copyrighted.
It’s not clear yet if the NYT’s copyright claims are legally valid. If the creators of the affected Wordle-like games decide to fight the takedowns, a court case will decide how much copyright protection applies to game ideas. The execution of an idea is always copyrightable (this is why there are so many types of glue and tape). However, the idea itself is generally not copyrightable.
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