{"id":33979,"date":"2026-06-22T14:21:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/?p=33979"},"modified":"2026-06-22T16:32:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T14:32:20","slug":"wordle-without-title-of-work-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"Wordle without title of work protection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull v4-pattern-hero v4-pattern-hero--post is-style-background-blend is-style-arrow has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover alignfull is-light v4-pattern-hero__cover\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);min-height:75vh;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><img data-dominant-color=\"d9aa1b\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d9aa1b;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"585\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-33968 size-large not-transparent\" alt=\"Wordle ohne Werktitelschutz, Markenrecht, Rechtsanwalt\" src=\"https:\/\/kpw.law\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wordle-ohne-Werktitelschutz-1024x585.jpg\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kpw.law\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wordle-ohne-Werktitelschutz-1024x585.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/kpw.law\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wordle-ohne-Werktitelschutz-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/kpw.law\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wordle-ohne-Werktitelschutz-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\/\/kpw.law\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wordle-ohne-Werktitelschutz-1536x878.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/kpw.law\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wordle-ohne-Werktitelschutz-2048x1170.jpg 2048w\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-base-background-color has-background-dim-0 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:5em\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-97ba1214 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-a6a2a725 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\r\n<h1 id=\"multirow-headline-block_a03aff8ede0dcc2867a92ba5dadde0b5\" class=\"wp-block-visual4-multirow-headline\">\r\n    <div class=\"wp-block-visual4-multirow-headline\">\n\n<p class=\"has-gigantic-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;margin-left:0%;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:1000;line-height:1;text-transform:uppercase\">Wordle<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-huge-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-right:0;margin-bottom:0;margin-left:15%;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:1000;line-height:1;text-transform:uppercase\">without<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-contrast-color has-text-color has-link-color has-gigantic-font-size wp-elements-15abe0cf324929cda9047603005b0bf9 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;margin-left:0%;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:1000;line-height:1;text-transform:uppercase\"><span class=\"v4-marker-highlight-background\">Title of work<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div> \r\n<\/h1>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-small-font-size is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-878d3859 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;font-style:italic;font-weight:300;text-transform:uppercase\"><div style=\"font-style:italic;font-weight:300;text-transform:uppercase\" class=\"wp-block-post-date has-small-font-size\"><time datetime=\"2026-06-22T14:21:30+02:00\">22. June 2026<\/time><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">from<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"font-style:italic;font-weight:600\" class=\"wp-block-post-author-name\">Clemens Pfitzer<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-3b99a472 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A hobby project becomes a global phenomenon overnight, a German puzzle publisher registers the name as a trademark, and The New York Times comes away empty-handed. When does copyright protection for a work actually take effect? And what does this ruling mean for everyone who publishes something online without thinking about it as a business?  <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2 id=\"h-worum-ging-es-in-dem-verfahren\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What was the case about?<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In June 2021, British developer Josh Wardle published a simple word puzzle on his personal website: Every day, there was a new five-letter target word, and players were given six attempts and colored clues. The game was called \u201cWordle\u201d and went viral starting in January 2022. By that time, over 100,000 people were visiting the site daily, including in Germany. The New York Times recognized the potential, negotiated with Wardle, and on January 31, 2022, purchased all rights to the game, including the name, from him.   <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just one day later, on February 1, 2022, a German puzzle publisher\u2014which publishes crossword puzzle books and puzzle magazines, among other things\u2014filed an application for the word mark \u201cWordle\u201d with the German Patent and Trademark Office. The publisher had already learned about the game in December 2021 and had programmed its own German-language version. The New York Times viewed this as an infringement of its rights and sought an injunction, disclosure, damages, and the cancellation of the German trademark. However, both the Hamburg Regional Court and the Higher Regional Court dismissed the lawsuit.   <\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"h-was-ist-ein-werktitel-und-wie-entsteht-der-schutz\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is a work title, and how is it protected?<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The German <a href=\"https:\/\/kpw.law\/rechtsgebiet\/markenrecht\/\" id=\"209\">Trademark Act protects <\/a>not only trademarks but also so-called business designations. These include business names\u2014that is, the names of companies\u2014and work titles\u2014that is, the names of printed works, films, computer programs, games, or similar works. Unlike a trademark, a work title is not created by filing an application with the office, but automatically through use. Whoever is the first to use a distinctive title in commercial transactions within Germany thereby acquires their own right, which is enforceable against third parties.   <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was precisely on this last point\u2014use in the course of business\u2014that the New York Times\u2019s lawsuit failed. The court had to determine whether Josh Wardle\u2019s personal website already constituted such commercial use, because only then could a copyright in the title of the work have arisen in the first place, which the newspaper could have subsequently acquired. <\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"h-warum-reichte-die-private-webseite-nicht-aus\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why wasn&#8217;t the personal website enough?<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In its  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.landesrecht-hamburg.de\/bsha\/document\/NJRE001644113\">Judgment of May 13, 2026 &#8211; Case No. 3 U 74\/24 <\/a>  It is clear that the same standards apply to the establishment of protection for work titles as to trademarks and business names. Use in the course of business exists only if it takes place in connection with an activity aimed at obtaining economic advantage and does not remain purely in the private sphere. The decisive factor here is the outwardly recognizable intent of the party acting, not merely the extent of attention an offer receives.  <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taken as a whole, everything pointed to personal use. The website never contained <a href=\"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/industries\/advertising\/\" id=\"24084\">any advertisements<\/a>. Wardle introduced himself there by his first name, talked about his interests, where he lived, and his online alias. Even the chosen web address was based on his personal alias rather than a trademark. The Senate found an interview Wardle gave shortly after the sale particularly revealing; in it, he explained that he had never been interested in monetizing the game.    <\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group v4-pattern-general-quote-box has-secondary-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60)\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\" style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--70);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--70)\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Making money was never really the goal. The goal was to develop a game that my partner would enjoy playing. [\u2026] I think because I started out with the intention of not doing it, it was easy to say no.  <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nor did the growing number of players or the emerging international press coverage alter this classification. The court emphasizes that the nature of use cannot depend on such external factors, because otherwise the characterization of a website in the event of viral success would no longer be in the hands of the operator. Nor were the sales negotiations with the New York Times themselves sufficient, since the website\u2019s design remained privately managed until the decisive deadline.  <\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"h-welche-rolle-spielte-die-rechtsprechung-zu-internetdomains\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What role did case law on Internet domains play?<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the first instance, the Hamburg Regional Court had based its decision on the case law of the Federal Court of Justice regarding Internet domains, according to which the mere registration of a domain or a purely private website does not in itself constitute conduct in the course of business. The New York Times considered this comparison misguided because, unlike a domain name, a work title confers on its owner an independent law that is enforceable against third parties. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Higher Regional Court rejects this objection. It argues that this is not an analogy to a separate domain law, but rather the application of the same legal standard established by the Federal Court of Justice that applies to all business designations. A different interpretation of the concept of commercial use depending on whether a law is being established or infringed would be inconsistent with the wording of the law and the intent of the legislature. If, on the other hand, the mere visibility of a title on the market were sufficient, practically any private publication on the Internet could be retroactively transformed into a commercial law as soon as it generated enough attention. This would undermine the concept of \u201ccommercial traffic,\u201d which is central to trademark law.    <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the same time, the court points to a solution that is often overlooked in the public debate surrounding the case. Anyone who creates a work with sufficient level of creativity is entitled to copyright protection, regardless of any commercial use. This protection does not depend on whether the title was used in commercial transactions.  <\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"h-was-bedeutet-das-urteil-fur-die-praxis\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does the ruling mean in practice?<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For developers and anyone who initially publishes content for free or as a hobby project, this case highlights a significant risk. As long as a title is not recognizably used for commercial purposes\u2014such as through advertising, a business model, or any other externally recognizable economic objective\u2014it is not protected as a work title. This applies even if a service reaches millions of users within a few weeks. During this time, third parties can easily register an identical sign as a trademark, provided they have a legitimate reason for the registration\u2014such as their own ongoing development project.   <\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"h-fazit\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns v4-pattern-text-copy-half-col is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-f56f613f wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anyone who wants to ensure the legal protection of a successful digital project should therefore establish clear business connections early on\u2014for example, through a legal notice containing company information, a stated intention for commercial use, or a <a href=\"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/services\/register-trademark-successfully\/\" id=\"1238\">trademark application<\/a>\u2014rather than relying solely on growing recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In passing, the court also clarified the trademark law aspects of the case. Since both trademarks\u2014the U.S. trademark of The New York Times and the German trademark of the puzzle publisher\u2014were filed on the same day, they are considered to be of equal standing. The court ruled out any unfair, deliberate obstruction of the publisher, because the publisher had already been working on its own version since December 2021 and, at the time of its application, was not required to have knowledge of any legally relevant commercial use abroad.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80)\">\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide v4-pattern-cta-box has-secondary-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0c8cea62 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignwide are-vertically-aligned-top v4-pattern-cta-box__columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-71c143ff wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top v4-pattern-cta-box__columns-column is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-fb77afb0 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:0;flex-basis:60%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-global-padding is-content-justification-right is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-1931a79c wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\r\n<div id=\"multirow-headline-block_3fcfb35a8f12aac163c0a09f6249586f\" class=\"wp-block-visual4-multirow-headline alignwide\">\r\n    <div class=\"wp-block-visual4-multirow-headline\">\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-huge-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;margin-left:0%;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:1000;line-height:1;text-transform:uppercase\">We are happy to<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-x-large-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-right:0;margin-bottom:0;margin-left:8%;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:1000;line-height:0.9;text-transform:uppercase\">advise you about<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-huge-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-right:0;margin-bottom:0;margin-left:0%;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:1000;line-height:0.9;text-transform:uppercase\">Trademark law!<\/p>\n\n<\/div> \r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-9da75b5c wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-visual4-contact-modal__button\">\r\n            \r\n        <div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\r\n            \r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-button v4-contact-modal-button is-style-fill\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600\" data-form-id=\"8\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-contrast-color has-base-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\">Contact form<\/a><\/div>\r\n\r\n        <\/div>\r\n        \r\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-style-mobile-only is-content-justification-left is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a768b15a wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-arrow is-style-fill\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-base-background-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"tel:4971141019030\" style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);font-style:normal;font-weight:600\">Call now!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top v4-pattern-cta-box__columns-column v4-pattern-cta-box__columns-column--image is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:40%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full v4-pattern-cta-box__columns-column__image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/kpw.law\/wp-content\/themes\/kpw-law\/assets\/samples\/person-cropped.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23155\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The creator of Wordle used his game for personal, not business, purposes. As a result, no copyright protection arose that the New York Times could later acquire. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4904,1],"tags":[6480,6482,6481,5989,5990],"thema":[4895],"rechtsgebiet":[4898],"produkt":[],"class_list":["post-33979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-unkategorisiert","tag-conduct-in-business-transactions","tag-the-new-york-times","tag-wordle","tag-work-title","tag-work-title-protection","thema-marke-en","rechtsgebiet-markenrecht-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Wordle Without Copyright Protection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The creator of Wordle used his game for personal, not business, purposes. As a result, no copyright protection arose that the New York Times could later acquire.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wordle without title of work protection\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The creator of Wordle used his game for personal, not business, purposes. As a result, no copyright protection arose that the New York Times could later acquire.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KPW Rechtsanw\u00e4lte und Fachanw\u00e4lte\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-22T12:21:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-22T14:32:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/kpw.law\/wp-content\/uploads\/Branchen-scaled.avif\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Clemens Pfitzer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@clemenspfitzer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Clemens Pfitzer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Clemens Pfitzer\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bb7a5be61de17c2c027e254e249214bd\"},\"headline\":\"Wordle without title of work protection\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-22T12:21:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-22T14:32:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1212,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Wordle-ohne-Werktitelschutz-1024x585.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Conduct in Business Transactions\",\"The New York Times\",\"Wordle\",\"Work title\",\"Work title protection\"],\"articleSection\":[\"General\",\"Unkategorisiert\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\\\/\",\"name\":\"Wordle Without Copyright Protection\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Wordle-ohne-Werktitelschutz-1024x585.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-22T12:21:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-22T14:32:20+00:00\",\"description\":\"The creator of Wordle used his game for personal, not business, purposes. As a result, no copyright protection arose that the New York Times could later acquire.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Wordle-ohne-Werktitelschutz-1024x585.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Wordle-ohne-Werktitelschutz-1024x585.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Wordle without title of work protection\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"KPW PartmbB \u2013 Rechtsanw\u00e4lte und Fachanw\u00e4lte\",\"description\":\"Rechtsanw\u00e4lte f\u00fcr IP- und IT-Recht\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"kpw.law\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"KPW PartmbB\",\"alternateName\":\"KPW\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/KPW400x400.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/KPW400x400.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"KPW PartmbB\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/kpw\"],\"description\":\"KPW ist eine auf IP und IT-Recht spezialisierte Kanzlei mit Rechts- und Fachanw\u00e4lten in Stuttgart. KPW ber\u00e4t Unternehmen in den Bereichen Wettbewerbsrecht, Markenrecht, Designrecht, Urheberrecht, IT-Recht, Patentrecht, Datenschutzrecht, E-Commerce und Know-How-Schutz.\",\"email\":\"info@kpw.law\",\"telephone\":\"+4971141019030\",\"legalName\":\"KPW PartmbB\",\"foundingDate\":\"2010-04-01\",\"vatID\":\"DE270757792\",\"duns\":\"341580247\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"1\",\"maxValue\":\"10\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bb7a5be61de17c2c027e254e249214bd\",\"name\":\"Clemens Pfitzer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dc1ba1c2897d08484345b3e1c9524bf03ed6b3ef6bf06ef8b3f8811c1fb6c38e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dc1ba1c2897d08484345b3e1c9524bf03ed6b3ef6bf06ef8b3f8811c1fb6c38e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dc1ba1c2897d08484345b3e1c9524bf03ed6b3ef6bf06ef8b3f8811c1fb6c38e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Clemens Pfitzer\"},\"description\":\"Rechtsanwalt, Fachanwalt f\u00fcr gewerblichen Rechtsschutz und Fachanwalt f\u00fcr IT-Recht, t\u00e4tig in den Bereichen Markenrecht, Wettbewerbsrecht, Urheberrecht, Designrecht, Know-How-Schutz, Patentrecht, IT-Recht, E-Commerce, Datenschutz\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/kpw.law\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/pfitzer\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/clemenspfitzer\"],\"gender\":\"m\u00e4nnlich\",\"knowsAbout\":[\"Markenrecht\",\"Wettbewerbsrecht\",\"Designrecht\",\"Urheberrecht\",\"E-Commerce\",\"Datenschutzrecht\",\"Patentrecht\",\"IT-Recht\",\"Softwarelizenzen\",\"Gesch\u00e4ftsgeheimnisse\"],\"knowsLanguage\":[\"Englisch\",\"Deutsch\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Rechtsanwalt, Fachanwalt f\u00fcr gewerblichen Rechtsschutz, Fachanwalt f\u00fcr IT-Recht\",\"worksFor\":\"KPW PartmbB\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Wordle Without Copyright Protection","description":"The creator of Wordle used his game for personal, not business, purposes. As a result, no copyright protection arose that the New York Times could later acquire.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Wordle without title of work protection","og_description":"The creator of Wordle used his game for personal, not business, purposes. As a result, no copyright protection arose that the New York Times could later acquire.","og_url":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/","og_site_name":"KPW Rechtsanw\u00e4lte und Fachanw\u00e4lte","article_published_time":"2026-06-22T12:21:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-22T14:32:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1440,"url":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/wp-content\/uploads\/Branchen-scaled.avif","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Clemens Pfitzer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@clemenspfitzer","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Clemens Pfitzer","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/"},"author":{"name":"Clemens Pfitzer","@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/bb7a5be61de17c2c027e254e249214bd"},"headline":"Wordle without title of work protection","datePublished":"2026-06-22T12:21:30+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-22T14:32:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/"},"wordCount":1212,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wordle-ohne-Werktitelschutz-1024x585.jpg","keywords":["Conduct in Business Transactions","The New York Times","Wordle","Work title","Work title protection"],"articleSection":["General","Unkategorisiert"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/","url":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/","name":"Wordle Without Copyright Protection","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wordle-ohne-Werktitelschutz-1024x585.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-22T12:21:30+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-22T14:32:20+00:00","description":"The creator of Wordle used his game for personal, not business, purposes. As a result, no copyright protection arose that the New York Times could later acquire.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wordle-ohne-Werktitelschutz-1024x585.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wordle-ohne-Werktitelschutz-1024x585.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wordle-without-title-of-work-protection\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Wordle without title of work protection"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/","name":"KPW PartmbB \u2013 Rechtsanw\u00e4lte und Fachanw\u00e4lte","description":"Rechtsanw\u00e4lte f\u00fcr IP- und IT-Recht","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/#organization"},"alternateName":"kpw.law","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/#organization","name":"KPW PartmbB","alternateName":"KPW","url":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/wp-content\/uploads\/KPW400x400.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/wp-content\/uploads\/KPW400x400.jpg","width":400,"height":400,"caption":"KPW PartmbB"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/kpw"],"description":"KPW ist eine auf IP und IT-Recht spezialisierte Kanzlei mit Rechts- und Fachanw\u00e4lten in Stuttgart. KPW ber\u00e4t Unternehmen in den Bereichen Wettbewerbsrecht, Markenrecht, Designrecht, Urheberrecht, IT-Recht, Patentrecht, Datenschutzrecht, E-Commerce und Know-How-Schutz.","email":"info@kpw.law","telephone":"+4971141019030","legalName":"KPW PartmbB","foundingDate":"2010-04-01","vatID":"DE270757792","duns":"341580247","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"1","maxValue":"10"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/bb7a5be61de17c2c027e254e249214bd","name":"Clemens Pfitzer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc1ba1c2897d08484345b3e1c9524bf03ed6b3ef6bf06ef8b3f8811c1fb6c38e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc1ba1c2897d08484345b3e1c9524bf03ed6b3ef6bf06ef8b3f8811c1fb6c38e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc1ba1c2897d08484345b3e1c9524bf03ed6b3ef6bf06ef8b3f8811c1fb6c38e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Clemens Pfitzer"},"description":"Rechtsanwalt, Fachanwalt f\u00fcr gewerblichen Rechtsschutz und Fachanwalt f\u00fcr IT-Recht, t\u00e4tig in den Bereichen Markenrecht, Wettbewerbsrecht, Urheberrecht, Designrecht, Know-How-Schutz, Patentrecht, IT-Recht, E-Commerce, Datenschutz","sameAs":["https:\/\/kpw.law","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/pfitzer\/","https:\/\/x.com\/clemenspfitzer"],"gender":"m\u00e4nnlich","knowsAbout":["Markenrecht","Wettbewerbsrecht","Designrecht","Urheberrecht","E-Commerce","Datenschutzrecht","Patentrecht","IT-Recht","Softwarelizenzen","Gesch\u00e4ftsgeheimnisse"],"knowsLanguage":["Englisch","Deutsch"],"jobTitle":"Rechtsanwalt, Fachanwalt f\u00fcr gewerblichen Rechtsschutz, Fachanwalt f\u00fcr IT-Recht","worksFor":"KPW PartmbB"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33979"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33998,"href":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33979\/revisions\/33998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33979"},{"taxonomy":"thema","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thema?post=33979"},{"taxonomy":"rechtsgebiet","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rechtsgebiet?post=33979"},{"taxonomy":"produkt","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpw.law\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/produkt?post=33979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}