http://pc.gamespy.com posted:I'm paraphrasing here, but Blizzard's response when it learned Valve trademarked "DOTA" in August 2010 was, "Not cool." A year-and-a-half later, Blizzard has evidently realized that politely expressing mild disappointment wasn't enough to dissuade Gabe Newell and company. Hence, this news: Blizzard has filed a Notice of Opposition against Valve's DOTA trademark and is seeking full control of all things Defense of the Ancients -- but Valve isn't giving up without a fight.

Rock Paper Shotgun directs us to Blizzard's DOTA legal filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which was submitted on November 16, 2011. In presenting its case, Blizzard outlines how the original Warcraft III mod first came about and argues that all things made in the game's World Editor are property of Blizzard as per its EULA.

"At all times, the DotA Mods have been marketed, advertised, and promoted as Warcraft III scenarios that require purchase and installation of Warcraft III and knowledge of Warcraft III's gameplay mechanics, user interface, and on-screen display," Blizzard states. "The fact that the DotA Mods are 'mods' of Warcraft III and that to be played the user must first purchase Warcraft III is well-known and well-publicized throughout the United States and the world."

And while Blizzard previously whimpered that Valve's DOTA trademark "just doesn't seem the right thing to do," it is using a bit more stern language in its legal filing.

"Valve [trademarked DOTA] for the purpose of appropriating Blizzard's goodwill in the DOTA Marks and in order to confuse consumers as to Blizzard's sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of Valve's products... Valve has no rights in or to the DOTA mark."

According to the USPTO, Valve filed its response to Blizzard's Notice of Opposition on December 22nd. In its filing, which is actually a slightly humorous read, Valve repeatedly admits that yes, Blizzard made Warcraft III, and yes, DOTA sprang from a Warcraft III mod, and yes Valve is a videogame developer and publisher... Valve then states that none of it means Blizzard has exclusive rights to the DOTA brand.

"Valve denies the use of DOTA marks by Valve and its predecessors in interest is under license from or for the benefit of Blizzard." That's legalese for "tough cookies."

What's next? As outlined by the USPTO, the lengthy discovery and disclosure process begins on the 24th, and runs through July 23. If the case continues past that point, the full process is scheduled to run through February 3, 2013.

And how about Valve's in-beta DOTA 2 and Blizzard's in-development Blizzard DOTA? At this point, it appears it will be one or the other. And if injunctions start flying around, things could get more contentious than a five-on-five multiplayer online battle arena fight.

Posted from WoW Vault

I'm on Blizzards side for this one.

Mainly because DotA sucks.

And for the obvious reason it was a game allowed to continue by Blizzard using their engine etc. Valve should have done the smart thing and made the same game under a different name.

 

-----signature-----

Agreed.

But then again, I dislike Blizzard nowadays, but that is a personal matter.


AND THEN AGAIN; it is clear that DOTA is something BIG. I'm sure there would not be a lawsuit anticipation if had not to do with the moneytree and its falling leaves. But that was obvious





Please, no arena references, argh! It is a piece of WoW's ToA!

 

-----signature-----

What the Hell is DOTA?

 

-----signature-----

Defense of the Ancients - the original WC3 mod pretty much gave birth to a new pvp map that has been used in tons of games since.

Blizzard pretty much wins this one, but I still hate our patent system. In this case, Valve just needs to pick a different name.

 

-----signature-----

I've been a huge Blizzard fan for a long time, but I have to admit that this is just Blizzard being butthurt that they turned down a great opportunity once upon a time. The intellectual property doesn't belong to them, they have nothing to do with it. Fans, never hired by Blizzard, created their idea as a mod that just happened to be based in the WC3 engine (and probably did a lot to boost sales for them to boot). Just like dozens of other mod teams before them on a smattering of other engines, when they decide to take it commercial they can do whatever the heck they want. [For reference, there have been mods created on Valve's engines before that went off to become commercial games on other engine licenses or underneath the umbrella of different companies. Valve never gave a shit, and neither has any other company in cases like this.] Eul (original creator) and Icefrog (which did more for DotA than anyone) decided to join up with Valve so they could make their vision a reality after Blizzard turned them down (all but confirmed fact). Most of the DotA community is behind them. This is just a result of the Activision merger finally bearing its fruits. Oh Blizzard, how you have fallen. Sad day indeed.

Would Blizzard have sued if Valve didn't trademark the name? The original story above suggests not.

 

-----signature-----

Sounds like blizzard is QQ about a lot of things these days.

 

-----signature-----

Definitely not on Blizzards side with this.

They only seemed to start caring now that game is close to full fruition and seeing how big the MOBA genre is getting on the professional scene. They didn't give 2 ishts about the genre over the last 8ish years, now all of a sudden they care?

They were not the ones who coined the term DOTA, so they should have no control over how/where it is used. Sorry, I can't be on board with a company that thinks they own any rights to a term that was coined in their game, but own no actual rights to.

 

-----signature-----

As soon as the map was labeled Defense Against The Ancients, or DOTA, it became Blizzards. It's clearly stated in the EULA for WC3, all map mods and intellectual property created using the WC3 editor and engine belongs to Blizzard. See below:

 

-----signature-----