Katamari Damacy's rolling-and-attaching growth mechanic
The countdown lives at /dying/us7402104b2. This page is where the resurrection unlocks once it flips.
US7402104B2 (estimated) · Namco Limited · Estimated expiry August 22, 2026
Namco's patent on the katamari mechanic — a ball that rolls up smaller objects and grows, changing what it can pick up next — is estimated to expire August 22, 2026. Track the live countdown at /dying/us7402104b2.
On death day, a playable katamari-mechanic demo unlocks here. Not before — this is the one grave on the site that's still, technically, a body.
Frequently asked questions
Are these game-mechanic patents part of the trading corpus?
No. The gaming wing sits outside the 13,862-patent trading corpus the rest of the site is built on. These facts are tracked by hand from public patent and news sources, not pulled from our database.
Does a patent on a game mechanic stop others from making similar games?
A patent covers the specific system its claims describe, not a whole genre. Mechanics that predate the patent or differ from the claims may be fine; whether a specific design infringes is a fact-specific legal question. This isn't legal advice.
Can I use the expired ones freely?
Once a patent's term ends or it lapses, the claimed mechanic generally becomes free to implement without a license. Other rights may still apply to a specific game, and this is general information only.