While the effects of cheat codes are not copyrighted, its probably still possible to patent them. But that would cost the company lot of legal fees and complications, for cheats. Also thankfully the cheat codes themselves are not copyrighted. But I feel like Konami could potentially trademark the “Konami Code” (which is even named and known like this). This EU court is only about Copyright, which is a good thing and is what everyone gets for free. But trademarks and patents could still be a problem if companies really want to be an ass (like Nintendo, Konami or Rockstar).