This is practical information, not legal advice or a determination that a particular filing will succeed. For filing decisions—especially patents—consult a qualified IP lawyer or registered patent or trademark agent in the relevant country.
The short answer
There is no single filing that makes the entire game “patented” or grants every kind of right in all four countries. Different parts of the product use different protections.
Copyright
Can protect qualifying original expression—such as human-authored source code, text, artwork, and music—not the game idea, rules, or general method of play. [2]
Trademarks
Protect a brand used for specified goods or services. This is the main route for seeking protection for the name and logo in each market; search and clearance should come first.
Patents
Cover qualifying inventions, not ownership of a story or general game rules. The game as described sounds like a social-deduction concept, not an identified technical invention. [15]
Ask counsel to search the full name and logo in software and entertainment markets. This is a clearance precaution—not a conclusion that the name is unavailable.
Manus’s Help Center says you own content created with Manus, including websites and AI-generated output, for personal or commercial use, subject to applicable law and third-party rights. It also warns that AI outputs may not be unique or protectable. [1] Contractual ownership of output is not a guarantee of exclusive copyright or patent rights.
In the United States, the Copyright Office says purely AI-generated material is not protected there; human-authored expression, sufficiently creative modifications, or selection and arrangement can qualify, while prompts alone generally do not provide enough control. Rules differ by country. [3]
What can work across borders
Copyright / Berne Convention
The UAE, India, the U.S., and the UK are Berne Convention parties. Berne provides national treatment and protection without formalities among member states, subject to each country’s law and the work qualifying for protection. [4][5]
You generally do not need four copyright registrations simply to create a copyright claim in human-authored code or artwork. Registration can still be useful evidence or help enforcement in a particular country; it does not turn an unprotectable idea or purely AI-generated passage into exclusive human-authored expression.
Trademarks / Madrid System
Eligible applicants may seek a mark in multiple Madrid member territories through one international application. Typically, the applicant needs a qualifying nationality, domicile, or business connection to a Madrid member and a basic national or regional application or registration. Each designated country applies its own law and can refuse protection. [20]
A Madrid filing is a filing convenience—not one automatic worldwide trademark.
Patents / PCT
All four are Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) states. A PCT application can streamline the initial international filing, but it does not create a “world patent.” Each national office decides whether to grant rights after the national-phase process, which requires further decisions, fees, and sometimes translations or local representatives. [18][19]
National routes
The right office and filing requirements depend on the right you are seeking. Use the official links below as the starting point, then confirm your situation with local counsel.
United Arab Emirates
- Copyright: The Ministry of Economy offers an Intellectual Works Rights registration service for individuals and companies. [8]
- Trademark: Apply through the Ministry of Economy after searching for similar earlier marks. Its guidance says foreign trademark owners must use a registration agent. [7]
- Patent: The Ministry lists a national route and written-invention-specification requirements; its guidance says the invention must be new/not publicly known before filing, inventive, and industrially viable. [6]
India
- Copyright: The Copyright Office provides online filing, including Form XIV for copyright registration. [10]
- Trademark: Search the Indian Trade Marks Registry and make the national application through IP India. [11]
- Patent: IP India accepts online filings. Its process describes Form 1 and Form 2/specification; after a provisional specification, the complete specification must be filed within 12 months. [9]
Before depositing source code for an Indian software copyright application, review the current upload instructions with counsel. Do not accidentally disclose source code or trade secrets you intend to keep confidential. [10]
United States
- Copyright: The Copyright Office’s eCO system accepts applications. Choose the appropriate category and describe human-authored material accurately, especially where AI-generated content is included. [3][14]
- Trademark: Search the USPTO database, then file for the mark and goods/services actually used or intended to be used. [13]
- Patent: Use the USPTO process only if counsel identifies a potentially patentable invention. A provisional application is not itself a patent and normally needs a corresponding nonprovisional application within 12 months. Do not assume the U.S. disclosure grace period preserves rights abroad. [12]
United Kingdom
- Copyright: UK government guidance says copyright in original software and web content arises automatically; the UK has no copyright register. [17]
- Trademark: Search the UK register and apply through the UK Intellectual Property Office. UK registration protects the UK, not automatically the other three markets. [16]
- Patent: UK guidance says an invention must be new and not made public anywhere in the world before filing. A way of playing a game or software without a technical purpose cannot be patented. [15]
Public disclosure / patent review
The patent-timing issue for your game
The public website is already live. This does not prove that every possible technical detail has been disclosed, but it makes a patentability review time-sensitive. UAE and UK official guidance expressly makes pre-filing public disclosure relevant; the U.S. has a limited inventor-disclosure grace period, but that may not preserve foreign rights. [6][12][15]
Do not publish additional technical details if you think there may be a patentable invention. Ask a patent attorney to assess what was actually made public and whether any technical feature—not just the story, role system, or rules—could qualify in each market. Do not rely on one country’s grace period for the others.
Practical order of work
- 01Choose the owner
Decide whether you personally or a company will own the brand, code, and other rights. Keep written assignments from contributors. If rights later move to a company, use a written assignment; app-store seller identity is a separate matter.
- 02Clear the name
Search “Sherlock and Homies,” “Sherlock & Homies,” and the logo in each country and the relevant software/game/entertainment classes. Ask a trademark professional whether national applications or Madrid may fit. A clear result in one country does not clear the other three.
- 03Preserve evidence
Keep dated source-code commits, original human-written text and art, design files, contracts, and records of substantial human edits. Separate your authored contributions from AI-generated material.
- 04Make targeted copyright filings
Consider registrations or records in countries where they are useful, based on the material you actually authored. Do not claim AI-only text or art as human-authored without professional guidance.
- 05Consider patents only after advice
The current public website and described gameplay do not by themselves establish a patentable invention. Get a four-country novelty/eligibility assessment before filing or adding more technical disclosure.
Official sources
The following links are the official or primary sources cited in this guide. Check the relevant office for current forms, fees, deadlines, and procedures.
- [1]Manus Help Center — ownership of websites and AI-generated outputs
- [2]U.S. Copyright Office — what copyright protects
- [3]U.S. Copyright Office — Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, Part 2: Copyrightability
- [4]WIPO — Berne Convention summary
- [5]WIPO Lex — Berne Convention contracting parties
- [6]UAE Ministry of Economy — patent registration
- [7]UAE Ministry of Economy — trademark registration
- [8]UAE Ministry of Economy — intellectual works rights registration
- [9]IP India — patent filing process
- [10]India Copyright Office — online services and online filing instructions
- [11]India Trade Marks Registry — public search
- [12]USPTO — patent process and provisional applications
- [13]USPTO — trademark search
- [14]U.S. Copyright Office — registration portal
- [15]UK Government — patent your invention
- [16]UK Government — register a trade mark
- [17]UK Government — how copyright protects your work
- [18]WIPO — PCT introduction
- [19]WIPO — PCT contracting states
- [20]WIPO — Madrid System, members, and country profiles for UAE, India, U.S., and UK
Research checked: 29 September 2026. Procedures and laws can change; confirm current requirements with the relevant office and qualified local counsel.