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Brandon Koppy author page

15 puzzles by Brandon Koppy
with Jim Horne comments

TotalDebutLatest
1511/21/20188/4/2023
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
2107131
RebusCircleScrabbleFresh
311.5959%
Brandon Koppy
Puzzles constructed by Brandon Koppy by year

Brandon Koppy works for a digital ad agency in Austin, Tex.

Fri 8/4/2023
PLAYMONEYNEWBS
HOMEALONEOLEIC
ELCAPITANDITTO
WASHVIMSEENTO
WWEOSHAOOP
MOTHERSUPERIOR
ONRYETRIBFDR
STINKERGALILEE
IBONOGOOWENS
PATERNITYTESTS
CPLLOGSERR
LYNDONETAECHO
ATARICLERGYMEN
NOMASALANMOORE
SEEMEPETSOUNDS
Sat 7/8/2023
NURSINGBRASITH
SCIENCELABTRIO
FLOATONAIRERRS
WATTETNAFEET
POWHYMNALS
GARAGEENEWS
MADEFORTVMOVIE
REMCEOHIEANT
CAESARDRESSING
ATWARONTILT
SANTANAASL
BARDRAMPBOSS
DUDEIFEELSILLY
ACERSTREETTEAM
YENSEASTEREGGS
Wed 5/31/2023
NSFWREBUSSHH
ETAILEXISTBAE
WOLFBLITZERATA
ALLISONABLER
RETTIGERWOODS
KNOWNNORAGAIT
ICEVINCENT
BEASTIEBOYS
SENATORYEE
ANTEARABDDAYS
BEARGRYLLSTEM
RATSOENTITLE
UKEBUFFALOBILL
PISASYETPILOT
TNTGAINSSAWS
Wed 4/5/2023
BRBIRASGASBAG
AERMARCAVIATE
MAEFILETMIGNON
BLAHDONTMINDME
IMSOREEVEL
TTADASOAPBOX
ROMMPHAHNEAVE
OMIITGTOSTTUN
TALCLOEWEMMMA
INKSPOTSOLII
LACKPACTEN
FELTATHOMEEZRA
OVERSHARINGVIP
REGIMEANTIACE
AROMASNEONHAS
Fri 12/23/2022
OHSOASTIRECUR
FEELSSEENEMORY
FLOATTANKTILDE
EMUFARMSHINDUS
DSLROUEONES
TISSUESAMPLE
MYMANPEELEID
YOUNGMCLASTLEG
OYSCOOPCALVE
BOTTOMDOLLAR
RENODEANARF
FIESTACANNIBAL
ERASEDANCETUNE
MIDISASTERISKS
ASSETGTOSSESH
Mon 11/21/2022
RIDSTADCRETE
EMITHOEHUSHUP
VUVUZELAENTIRE
SPACEDFLAWSAN
CLEFEPICWIN
OLEOLEOLEOLEOLE
DAYETALDON
EXECSMAZESTYX
COGNOSYDEF
GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL
HANSOLOSTUN
ATTDIPSELECTS
NEALONWORLDCUP
ARCANEAHIGENA
STYESGMCEDEN
Fri 9/9/2022
PERTURBSLADED
EXNIHILOFELIPE
TEAMUPONTAPSIN
RECORDDEALS
HYDRAKGBPEE
EUROBRITAPPS
AGOGTUAHONEST
POPULISMAMWAY
MEANTTSAR
ESPTESTSRIG
SPATROEGSNOG
ALLAHSLRAGER
GUITARSOLODATE
AMNESIASTACHE
SEESPOTSETTER
T
R
I
S

Jim here, sitting in for Jeff Chen, who is shredding a solo with his ax.

Caleb Rasmussen had a Tetris-themed crossword a decade ago. Should Caleb sue Brandon? Should the famously litigious Tetris company sue the NYT? There are some interesting copyright issue parallels between Tetris and crossword puzzles.

You can't copyright "ideas" (like the rules of a game), but you can copyright expressions (implementations) of those ideas. That might seem clear, but it is open to vast interpretation that often has to be settled in court. Tetris Holdings, LLC v. Xio Interactive, Inc. confirmed that Tetris owned the shape of the pieces (called tetriminoes — that name now trademarked) and the exact 10x20 field size. If you make a Tetris clone, you will get sued. Even if the company doesn't consider you a threat, they have to take active steps to protect their claims, or they will lose them.

Some games are copyrighted, and some aren't. The maker of Sudoku didn't protect his invention and never made a penny despite the huge popularity of that game. The KenKen inventor was more careful and presumably has made many pennies. Wordle had prior art and so isn't protected, but the NYT gave "low seven figures" to its inventor for the Wordle name and for the URL, which now redirects to nytimes.com.

Crossword-like games were published as far back as the 1870s, and nobody claims they own that puzzle type, but crosswords uniquely contain themes and clues that are created anew for each puzzle. The NYT, like all publishers, claims copyright on each puzzle, and we dutifully include that mark on each we display, but it's not clear what exactly that protects. Themes, as we've seen, repeat. There are only so many ways to clue words like ALAI. The complete grid and clue set seems like it deserves legal ownership, but what about grids that are so similar they likely started from theft of another published puzzle? Or is that even theft?

Without a definitive crossword case like Tetris v Xio, nobody knows where the boundaries are. Timothy Parker got defenestrated from USA Today and Universal Syndicate not through legal action but by public embarrassment. (NYT neither uncovered the plagiarism nor promoted the scandal.)

I suspect publishers like it this way. If there ever were a court case that defined the rules — and copyright and patent case resolutions often seem random — then everyone would have to comply, even if the rules were stupid.

Sun 5/1/2022 Blank Expressions
AHALTESCHMOISHNIB
REXREEDSHOOINSDUALIPA
PHLEGMYFORTLEEABRAHAM
WAPGOODNEATSADS
ANGELENOPAPALWARNZONE
DEADNHEADTOGCASUALSEX
LASSIPLANETEARTHSOAMI
ITSDOTIMELOCALSGET
BOYSDUEIBARSHMOSEAS
OWENCLARIONELON
ABASEEWEDMSEIDSUGAR
LANAISTOOKNOVERFIGARO
ARIREEFLAHTIETRESMU
BNSIDESAERATEDHARPNON
ABEFORTASMIOROCKSOLID
MATSSOLARSAILDIRE
ACELUPINEPEDANTNED
KARATEENDUSERGOOSES
EBERTOUSTSSLOPE
SWEATSNITMARSTARNDATE
TILDESNOWPIERCERHUMOR
ADAMSETPHONEHOMEACELA
TENETSEANTOTSTENDS
Wed 11/24/2021
SLAGOBTUSESSE
HAIRNEWLOWUPN
OMNIPOTENCEPOE
OATESRAODERM
PRIVATEPROPERTY
ETALLOBES
ACKLIESRUGBY
TRASHCOMPACTORS
MALTATOILSAL
ZEALSRUMS
FISHFORCOMPLNTS
ANALDOHEBOAT
TELPICODEGALLO
ASASUCKERLIEU
LSDAMOEBALEST
POW Sun 10/10/2021 CLUE: THE MOVIE
LASATOMSEEKLADIES
ASASARAHELLEORONYM
PSYCHOANALYSISGIJOES
CUSHYOREOMONSOONS
ACMEISWEARITSISEHS
THEREDCARPETPANELSAW
PIERSCPAEDDA
PELOTONTSHIRTCANNON
ALOUMEANIEGLUEDAWK
CLAIMSNONETABOOS
KANJISIMONSAYSBORON
ATHOMEOKIEMORALE
AMARADARTOLDTOENDS
BINGEWATCHERORESTES
UNTOOYEIDIOT
JOBOFFERCHANELNOFIVE
AREALSUKULELESONED
RESTUPONMORTBASTE
GOTHAMFLYMETOTHEMOON
ALLELETIMEIRAILLEI
REESESTADAORTAESC
POW Wed 8/4/2021
NATOASPIREBAT
ANONCLOSETAPE
MONSTERMASHRTE
MEADBEIGNET
WALLSTREETCRASH
ALOEWILLSARTE
NYCFIFEODDS
CONTACTUS
TBARNAIRBEE
PHATGROPEAIMS
RUSHHOURTRAFFIC
ONMYOWNIRON
ADAFILMSPLICER
METFLOTUSCANI
SRIADWARSALTO
Wed 4/21/2021
ABASEBERTR2D2
BUNTSUVEABARN
BONETRECLAIMED
RYANREYNOLDS
WOOTNYUMSN
ANIGALSHECATE
DONDELILLOOTOS
COTANPIECLINT
ODORCOCOCHANEL
PLUNGEKILOGRE
YERONSIPOD
PATTONOSWALT
SWEETRIDEANNIE
AWLSAPEXWICCA
C3POLESTSTEEL
POW Wed 8/19/2020
LIFEBOATSHOW
IMAMONCENORAD
FILASMUTIDAHO
ENLISTERAPATOW
LEOACMEEON
TURBANSABRA
IDOLATARIFLOP
MOMACYCLETOIL
ENOSCLEANETNA
TREESTARSKY
FOYENDSNAB
ARENDTTWOSIDED
CANOENEHIROME
ENTRYANOSTVMA
GAMEHOMEHEAD
Thu 5/30/2019
DIPBEELINECHE
ERAATECROWAOL
JACKSONHOLEMMA
ASKSINANIBEEP
HUNTIMEFLIES
AVEMAMAFENCE
BEATBOXNALA
OXTAILTACKED
STEPPOTHEAD
IRATEASAPNUS
POWERPLAYWES
HAASLANVESTED
ORRPADDLEBOARD
NEDAMIRITERIA
EDSSENATORREY
Wed 11/21/2018
RAHMESQSSHAKE
OGEEFEETYOUIN
TRADEFAIRDURST
EDENSIEGSOLI
LEBARONALTERER
OSUOVAMANCAVE
OTTNEKOSTA
MOTTREEFSTHAI
ASPDOESOPT
PACKRATRYEMPS
ONLEASHTERSELY
PTASSEENIATE
TIMORFLIPFLOPS
AFOULESTOSWAP
BARTSDEEDANYA
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