World of Monopoly.com

Patent Free Editions

In 1985, 50 years after Parker Brothers obtained the Monopoly licence, the patent expired so everybody can makes copies of monopoly. That was immediately done by countries like Tunisia, Syria, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

On their turn Parker Brothers rapidly expanded their assortment with sets for former cummunist countries like Russia, Croatia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary, but also Turkey (all games manufactured in Ireland). Though the original Charles Darrow/Parker Bros. Patent has now expired, a lot of parts of Monopoly are copyrighted.

This is what you will see on the copyright notices on official versions and taking note of this will help collectors know whether it is an "official" version or not.

MONOPOLY™, the distinctive design of the gameboard, the four corner squares, the Mr. Monopoly name and character, and each of the distinctive elements of the board, are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. for its property trading game and game equipment. ©1999 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Also, Hasbro has got a Trademark on the word "Monopoly" using the Monopoly typeface and is renewed every ten years. This can be seen here.