Activision / Blizzard Versus Valve in Court - Game On!
DotA just love a good courtroom drama?
Blizzard - or Activision/Blizzard as the World of Warcraft maker is sometimes called by people who care about the trivial detail - is taking Valve to court over the latter's use of the word 'DotA' in its DotA 2 game.
DotA stands for 'Defense of the Ancients' and was a originally a mod for Blizzard's WarCraft III.
Let’s be clear on this: under US law, if you don’t protect your brand by going after everybody and anybody who decides to use it for their own financial ends, then the courts may feel that you’re no longer that interested in protecting it.
As Kotaku points out, “In 2010, Valve - who is working on a successor to the original called DotA 2 - began attempts to trademark the word "DotA", despite the fact it had no historical connection to the property or the genre. At the time, Blizzard said some unkind things publicly about the move, but didn't seem to take things any further.
That situation, possibly because of new Blizzard ownership, has now changed and it’s taking Valve to the US Patent and Trademark Office's Trial and Appeal Board. Blizzard wants Valve’s application for DotA to be killed (possibly with a ‘lance of truth’ or a ‘dagger of law’).
Blizzard’s case is that "the DotA mark has become firmly associated in the mind of consumers with Blizzard".
The problem is that DotA was never produced by Blizzard. It was produced as a mod to Warcraft III by someone who, well, wasn’t Blizzard or Activision/Blizzard.
So, new now find ourselves in a position whereby Valve has DotA II and Blizzard has DotA Blizzard. x
Irrespective of bringing a game to market that will serve the consumer no matter, it’s off to court we go. In the filing, Blizzard states:
“In contrast to Blizzard, Applicant Valve Corporation ("Valve") has never used the mark DotA in connection with any product or service that currently is available to the public.
“By attempting to register the mark DotA, Valve seeks to appropriate the more than seven years of goodwill that Blizzard has developed in the mark DotA and in its Warcraft III computer game and take for itself a name that has come to signify the product of years of time and energy expended by Blizzard and by fans of Warcraft III. Valve has no right to the registration it seeks.
“If such registration is issued, it not only will damage Blizzard, but also the legions of Blizzard fans that have worked for years with Blizzard and its products, including by causing consumers to falsely believe that Valve's products are affiliated, sponsored or endorsed by Blizzard and are related or connected to Warcraft III.”
Basically, because you had to own WarCraft III to play DotA, well, the word ‘ DotA’ belongs to Blizzard.
Sources: US Patent Office via NeoGaf
DotA stands for 'Defense of the Ancients' and was a originally a mod for Blizzard's WarCraft III.
Let’s be clear on this: under US law, if you don’t protect your brand by going after everybody and anybody who decides to use it for their own financial ends, then the courts may feel that you’re no longer that interested in protecting it.
As Kotaku points out, “In 2010, Valve - who is working on a successor to the original called DotA 2 - began attempts to trademark the word "DotA", despite the fact it had no historical connection to the property or the genre. At the time, Blizzard said some unkind things publicly about the move, but didn't seem to take things any further.
That situation, possibly because of new Blizzard ownership, has now changed and it’s taking Valve to the US Patent and Trademark Office's Trial and Appeal Board. Blizzard wants Valve’s application for DotA to be killed (possibly with a ‘lance of truth’ or a ‘dagger of law’).
Blizzard’s case is that "the DotA mark has become firmly associated in the mind of consumers with Blizzard".
The problem is that DotA was never produced by Blizzard. It was produced as a mod to Warcraft III by someone who, well, wasn’t Blizzard or Activision/Blizzard.
So, new now find ourselves in a position whereby Valve has DotA II and Blizzard has DotA Blizzard. x
Irrespective of bringing a game to market that will serve the consumer no matter, it’s off to court we go. In the filing, Blizzard states:
“In contrast to Blizzard, Applicant Valve Corporation ("Valve") has never used the mark DotA in connection with any product or service that currently is available to the public.
“By attempting to register the mark DotA, Valve seeks to appropriate the more than seven years of goodwill that Blizzard has developed in the mark DotA and in its Warcraft III computer game and take for itself a name that has come to signify the product of years of time and energy expended by Blizzard and by fans of Warcraft III. Valve has no right to the registration it seeks.
“If such registration is issued, it not only will damage Blizzard, but also the legions of Blizzard fans that have worked for years with Blizzard and its products, including by causing consumers to falsely believe that Valve's products are affiliated, sponsored or endorsed by Blizzard and are related or connected to Warcraft III.”
Basically, because you had to own WarCraft III to play DotA, well, the word ‘ DotA’ belongs to Blizzard.
Sources: US Patent Office via NeoGaf
Read More Like This