Blizzard and Valve Begin Legal Battle Over DOTA Name
Posted: 07:27PM
Author: bp9801
Currently, we have not one but two new Defense of the Ancients games in development; one by Blizzard and the other by Valve. Blizzard is making Blizzard DOTA while Valve is making Dota 2, and there has been no issue between the two so far. The original DOTA was a mod for Warcraft III, a Blizzard game, and Blizzard DOTA is a mod for StarCraft II. Valve's Dota 2 is a standalone sequel to the original mod, and has one of the original developers, Icefrog, working on it. Today, some interesting court documents have surfaced as Blizzard is challenging Valve's trademark application of the DOTA name.
Valve filed for the trademark in 2010, shortly before beginning work on Dota 2. Blizzard has never tried to trademark the name due to DOTA being associated with Blizzard for so long. Now Blizzard says if Valve obtains the right to use the name then "damage and injury" will come to itself. It is interesting to note that Valve is calling its game Dota 2 and makes no mention of "the Ancients" in the name, but Blizzard takes offence regardless.
This legal battle could stretch out for some time, especially since the court documents outline a timeline stretching into 2013. Blizzard DOTA and Dota 2 do not have confirmed release dates, and depending on the outcome in the courts, it could be a while for either one.