Waaaaah, a company is suing people who are developing illegal hacks to their game waaaaaaaaaah.Nifty said:
Blizzard: Valve Shouldn't Trademark DotA
- Thread starter Tom Goldman
- Start date
I actually disagree with both companies on this issue. Blizzard says that Valve shouldn't get to own the DoTA name, and while they are technically correct, DoTA is no longer just a name. DoTA has now become so widespread in the culture now that DoTA is a completely separate genre now, and you cannot own a a genre.
A rough equivalent would be if the makers of Wolfenstein 3D thought the makers of every other FPS ever made were dicks because they copied Wolfenstein's gameplay. That makes no sense because the genre has evolved so much since then, it is almost unrecognizable.
So, TL;DR Valve has every right to make a DoTA game, but trying to trademark something that has evolved to basically become its own genre is kinda stupid. Also, Blizzard should just chill.
A rough equivalent would be if the makers of Wolfenstein 3D thought the makers of every other FPS ever made were dicks because they copied Wolfenstein's gameplay. That makes no sense because the genre has evolved so much since then, it is almost unrecognizable.
So, TL;DR Valve has every right to make a DoTA game, but trying to trademark something that has evolved to basically become its own genre is kinda stupid. Also, Blizzard should just chill.
For an optional in-game mount of their own design. People can buy it if they want to. I played wow for five years, didn't think it was worth it, I DIDN'T BUY IT and my game experience was just fine.Ghengis John said:
There's nothing unethical about that.
As opposed to... stealing the name from a community project. That's pretty shady.
A lot of the comments here make it seem like Valve just now pulled this 'stunt', however they applied for this trademark months ago, however, just now, with DotA 2 being announced, a week ago, and now Blizzard DotA, Blizzard decide to take action against it.
Blizzard hasn't tried to "take action" against it. A Blizzard rep was asked by a publication what they thought about Valve DotA. They answered honestly, that they thought it was shady.Crasha said:
Christ, is it too much to ask that people actually learn what's going on before spouting off?
No this is just the Blizzard side they are still a bunch of cool guys.fKd said:
OT: I highly doubt that Valve wants to get into a fight over this with Blizzard. They are both massive companies but as a certain contributor pointed out Blizzard is just one side of the ABlizz coin and this could turn really nasty for both parties really quick. I say Valve only trademarks it's sequel to Dota and let the communities make their own.
Just because the DotA community hadn't trademarked DotA doesn't mean Valve are allowed to take it. They can use another name and just make a game in the genre. Hell, to many people the genre is "DotA".
I still don't see how they think they'll get away with taking art assets.
I still don't see how they think they'll get away with taking art assets.
They didn't steal anything. Some of the creators of DOTA entered into Valve's employment and sold over said rights. The same thing happened with Counterstrike. The only difference is no other company had it's hands in Counterstrike's cookie jar. If blizzard had hired Gooseman instead of valve at the time, valve would probably have cried foul too. So shady? No. Stolen? No.JerrytheBullfrog said:
It remains to be seen though how much claim to ownership the members of the team who were apparently deposed will be able to make.
Yeah, Valve never wants money from anyone, I gues you havent play TF2 yet. If Blizzard ever wanted Dota copyright they would have it long time ago and dont they make anything free for their games? I think you missed GIGABYTES of patches for WoW that keep adding new content.ImprovizoR said:
Okay, just read the OP again, and I'm sorry for misunderstanding that part. I still think IceFrog and Valve are in their right to do this, as the other developers on DotA weren't excactly handing it over to someone who could do the job better or anything, they just abandoned it, and someone was nice enough to pick it up and keep working.JerrytheBullfrog said:
DotA Is a community project... those creators never owned the rights. No one owns the rights to DotA, that's the point of this outcry.Ghengis John said:
Valve want to create a trademark for the name DotA meaning that Valve would own it, the annoying thing about Valve owning the trademark would mean that they have legal precedent over anyone who wants to make a DotA mod for any game.
Modders don't have the rights to their project, I assure you, you look for companies policies on modders and you'll find that the creator doesn't own a damn thing.
And wait a second. Are you saying this in defense of the company that charges $20 for a fucking in-game hat? That's ridiculous.Ghengis John said:
One of the creators of DotA was hired by Valve, and he wasn't even the original creator. What right does he have to sell the rights? Do the others not have any claim to the name? What about the hundreds and thousands of people who made the community and the game what it was with suggestions nad feedback and just playing it?Ghengis John said:
Stolen? Maybe. Shady? Hell yes.
Unethical? Compared with putting the Mannco store in a game people have already paid for? The sparkle-pony doesn't give you anything other than cosmetic advantages.Ghengis John said:
The guy they hired (Icefrog) didn't come up with the name or the art assets. He didn't come up with the gameplay either, but Valve are allowed that.Ghengis John said:
HoN and LoL are just as much continuations of the original DotA as Valve's DotA 2 is. Just one is actually CALLED DotA.Crasha said:
Valve isn't starting development on the WC3 mod. they're making their own game that you're going to have to pay for.
Hey, who said Valve were the good guys here? I think a lot of you are reading too much into my post. This is just a case of two sharks fighting over the same meat. I don't think there is a "Good guy". Neither one is a dove. Just two crows and some ruffled feathers.AngryMongoose said:
The people who played it and gave feedback have no more claim to ownership than someone who watches a movie, let alone they paid for nothing. If you're going to get emotional about it I'll just give up on reasoning with you.JerrytheBullfrog said:
Regardless of if there is one developer from the original with valve in making the new one doesn't matter. Firstly, one developer from a team of people is hardly enough to copyright the title.
Secondly, and more importantly, it was made by the WC3 community, for the WC3 community. Even if the whole DotA team was working on DotA team, DotA is no longer their name and they should respect their fans enough to realize that.
Secondly, and more importantly, it was made by the WC3 community, for the WC3 community. Even if the whole DotA team was working on DotA team, DotA is no longer their name and they should respect their fans enough to realize that.
No-one should have DoTA trademarked. Keep it free to everyone so that they can keep it within the community, where it belongs. Isn't there a license for keeping it in public and retail?
Calumon: Aren't they both owned by mean companies? Ohhh... I smell war...
Calumon: Aren't they both owned by mean companies? Ohhh... I smell war...