Tetris was born behind the Iron Curtain.
Alexey Pajitnov designed it in 1984 on a Soviet Elektronika 60 computer. He worked for a state research institute, so the game belonged to the government, not him, and for years he earned no royalties from it. His royalties began only in 1996, when the rights came back to him and he co-founded The Tetris Company.
Tetris on Brandseum