Studios Are Hiding Their Games So AI Can’t Copy Them | This Week in IP

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When AI makes copying cheap, where does the value go? This week, the studio behind Moonlighter pulled back its public playtest over cloning fears, and another studio cancelled its free Steam demo, saying a copy could be produced quickly with AI. Xbox's own memo on Xbox Labs says rapid ports and coding agents challenge its existing business models. Seth Cronin works through where the value moves when building and copying get cheap: down to chips and power, to trust and security, to community, and back into hiding, the very tension the patent system was built for. Also this week: about 300 authors file individual suits against Meta, and a judge orders Meta to name everyone who approved downloading the pirated books; Amazon and Google both bring PyTorch to their own AI chips; Google loses twice in patent law on the same Monday; the Supreme Court can't hear BMG v. Vetter for lack of a quorum; one hacker uses AI agents to break into sites at more than 100 companies; and AI helps find critical bugs in PHP. Patent of the Week: Dell's modular AI appliance. If AI could clone what you're building from a two-minute demo, what would you still be selling? Tell us in the comments. More on AI-built clones: Invent Anything Talks with Mike D'Andrea: https://youtu.be/EeYTlSRpxW0 This Week in IP, from Invent Anything Hosted by Seth Cronin | ipCapital Group Released October 27, 2026; sources dated Oct. 13–23, 2026. CHAPTERS 0:00 Why game studios are pulling their demos 0:45 Meta has to name everyone who approved the pirated books 1:38 Amazon and Google go after Nvidia's real advantage 2:20 Google's rough week in patent law 2:51 The Supreme Court couldn't hear a case at all 3:22 Main story: Xbox says its business model is being challenged 4:20 AI moves the value to different parts of the stack 5:04 People are using AI to declutter their smart TVs 5:39 One hacker, AI agents, 100 companies 6:21 AI found critical bugs in PHP 7:18 So where does the value go? 7:42 The patent bargain vs. the cancelled demo 8:08 Invent at the right layer 8:34 More in our Adobe conversation with Mike D'Andrea 8:58 Patent of the Week: Dell's modular AI appliance 9:55 Future Seth update: "Black October" 12:18 What would you still be selling? SOURCES Game Developer (Oct 19): https://www.gamedeveloper.com/programming/moonlighter-developer-delays-public-playtest-of-next-game-over-concerns-of-ai-cloning Kotaku (Oct 16): https://kotaku.com/anime-gambling-horror-game-ditches-free-steam-demo-over-fears-of-getting-ripped-off-by-ai-2000746794 Bloomberg Law (Oct 19): https://news.bloomberglaw.com/class-action/meta-sued-by-hundreds-of-authors-in-ai-training-copyright-cases Kadrey v. Meta discovery order, via Digital Music News (Oct 20): https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2026/10/20/meta-ai-lawsuit-shadow-library-discovery/ PyTorch, TorchNeuron (Oct 19): https://pytorch.org/blog/introducing-torchneuron-native-pytorch-backend-for-aws-trainium/ TechCrunch, TorchTPU (Oct 20): https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/20/google-has-joined-amazon-in-attacking-nvidias-stronghold-with-ai-app-developers/ Amazon, Indiana SMRs (Oct 19): https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/sustainability/amazon-nuclear-energy-indiana-x-energy-aep Supreme Court order list (Oct 19): https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/101926zor_q8l1.pdf Google v. Valtrus, Fed. Cir. (Oct 19): https://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/opinions-orders/24-1945.OPINION.10-19-2026_2772810.pdf Xbox Wire, Xbox Labs (Oct 13): https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/10/13/introducing-xbox-labs/ PC Gamer (Oct 19): https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/xbox-biz-guy-deletes-his-x-account-less-than-24-hours-after-saying-game-devs-who-dont-embrace-ai-should-not-be-in-the-business-of-being-a-business/ cleanyourtv: https://github.com/Gathin23/cleanyourtv Reuters via BNN Bloomberg (Oct 19): https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/artificial-intelligence/2026/10/19/how-one-hacker-used-ai-agents-and-a-few-thousand-dollars-to-break-into-scores-of-sites-reuters-exclusive/ Wiz, PHP2Shell (Oct 21): https://www.wiz.io/blog/php2shell-php-rce Dell, US 12,769,692 B2 (Oct 20): https://patentsgazette.uspto.gov/week42/OG/html/1551-3/US12769692-20261020.html The Meta claims are allegations in pending lawsuits. The $50-per-hack figure is the NorForge researcher's estimate; Reuters could not determine whether data was taken. TorchNeuron and TorchTPU compatibility claims are the companies' own. Amazon's reactors are a proposal. A granted patent does not establish that a product uses the invention, and Dell has not announced a device like it. The drawings are our own sketches unless labeled as patent drawings. Strategy education from ipCapital Group, an IP strategy consulting firm (not a law firm). Nothing here is legal advice. Audio Mastered by: www.stereorabbit.com MUSIC "The Crate Desk", original for Invent Anything. Piano: Versilian Studios via tonejs-instruments (Nicholaus P. Brosowsky), CC BY 3.0; arranged and processed. No endorsement implied.