DOTA 2 isn't a mystery, we've known Valve is developing it for like over a year now it seems. All the sudden Blizzard gets huffy? Valve's been working on this game for a long time and it's looking pretty cool. Go get bent Blizz.
Blizzard Takes Issue With Valve's Use of DOTA
Warcraft developer issues a notice of opposition to Valve's mod based game.
The acronym DOTA may not mean a whole lot to some people, but it apparently means a lot to Blizzard. Short for Defense of the Ancients, DOTA began its life as a popular mod for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and the expansion The Frozen Throne. Valve, a company that is decidedly not Blizzard, took notice of the mod’s popularity and began development of a sequel, aptly titled DOTA 2.
Initially it didn’t seem that Blizzard had any issue with Valve developing the game and using the title DOTA moniker, but for whatever reason that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore as Blizzard has filed a notice of opposition regarding Valve’s use of the DOTA name. The document states the following:
Blizzard seeks to prevent registration by its competitor Valve Corporation (“Valve”) of a trademark, DOTA, that for more than seven years has been used exclusively by Blizzard and its fan community, under license from Blizzard. By virtue of that use, the DOTA mark has become firmly associated in the mind of consumers with Blizzard, including to signify a highly popular scenario or variant of one of Blizzard’s best-selling computer games, Warcraft III.
The document goes on to state that Valve has no history with the term DOTA so, even though Blizzard has no existing trademark on the term, Valve should not be permitted to use the name.
Additional hearings are scheduled throughout the year. It is unknown at this time if these hearings will cause DOTA 2 to be delayed, though we will let you know as soon as we get word.
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