DotA Creators "Counter-File" Trademark Against Valve

[John Funk]

DotA Creators "Counter-File" Trademark Against Valve

Claiming that "Defense of the Ancients" should be the property of the gaming community, League of Legends developer Riot Games has contested Valve's "DOTA" trademark filing.

A week ago, it was revealed that popular PC developer Valve had filed a trademark [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102727-Valve-Files-Trademark-for-DotA] for something called "DOTA." Given that Valve had previously hired IceFrog - developer of the popular Warcraft III mod Defense of the Ancients - to work on a project that make DotA fans "excited," it didn't take a codebreaker to venture that Valve was making its own DotA clone.

If some members of the original DotA All-Stars team have a say, though, Valve's game won't be using the DotA name. Riot Games, which makes the free-to-play DotA clone League of Legends, filed a competing trademark for Defense of the Ancients that attempts to block any claim Valve would have to the name.

"We have filed for the Defense of the Ancients trademark to protect the work that dozens of authors have done to create the game and on behalf of the millions of DotA players all over the world," Riot's Steve "Pendragon" Mescon told PC Gamer [http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/08/17/riot-games-dev-counter-files-dota-trademark/].

Mescon and fellow Riot employee Steve "Guinsoo" Feak were two of the original creators of DotA All-Stars, but they think that no entity should have claim to the name - it was a community project, and should stay that way. "...The idea that one single company is taking control of the name of something that hundreds of people have contributed to is surprising," said Mescon. "I believe DotA should always remain a community-owned product that modders, independent developers and game fans can continue to modify and play as often as they'd like."

It isn't that Mescon necessarily thinks that Valve will mishandle the license - he is willing to give the developer the benefit of the doubt based on Valve's history of supporting the modding community - but that he fears the ownership of the name might negatively affect development of the community-made product.

"I think the best-case scenario would be that nobody owns the trademark to the DotA name ... but if Valve were to ultimately gain the rights, I hope that they would abandon the trademark and release it to the community to allow them to continue to modify, play and experience DotA for free. That's what DotA is all about."

That, and being mercilessly hostile to new players.

(Gamasutra [http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/08/17/riot-games-dev-counter-files-dota-trademark/])

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[Woodsey]

I think I'm missing something here, since I don't see what the problem is. Valve get the name of course, but they're only going to use that on whatever they're working on - I can't imagine they'd take rights over the original mod.

 

[cainx10a]

I respect his opinion, and agree to it. It would go to waste that Valve will be recognized by new players as the "creators" of DOTA, same kinda goes for Alien Swarm: everyone was praising Valve for releasing the game, but few even acknowledge the real creators of the game, those good folks at Black Cat Games.

 

[Darktau]

That, and being mercilessly hostile to new players.

I see what you did there

I have played LoL and I that hasn't got as much of the hostility, and I think keeping it community based is a good thing, though I doubt valve would ruin it, and I doubt they will try to attack the original devs without some major PR stunt.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

I'm asking one question:

WHY WASN'T THIS TRADEMARKED YEARS AGO?

 

[cainx10a]

That, and being mercilessly hostile to new players.

I see what you did there

I have played LoL and I that hasn't got as much of the hostility, and I think keeping it community based is a good thing, though I doubt valve would ruin it, and I doubt they will try to attack the original devs without some major PR stunt.

Try playing HoN which is even closer to DotA, although a lot of them were pretty helpful at giving tips and advice, the few rotten apples are more than enough to ruin the game.

 

[9NineBreaker9]

If Valve will let me download their new maps so that I can actually play their DotA clone, then I fully support them and their tyrannical trademarking.

[sub]I've never been able to play DotA because I've never been able to download the damn map before I get booted <,<[/sub]

 

[VirusHunter]

You know what would be funny? If Valve was intent of making a completely different game that just happened to have the abbreviation "DotA".

 

[Cynical skeptic]

Smart.

If any corporation owns the name of something, they can begin to dictate how that name is used. If, say, valve realizes almost no one is playing their dota clone because dota is still better, they could shut down all development of "dota" because they own the trademark.

 

[Reliq]

They are a company, they have a right to steal shit!

Edit: Or so I have been told

 

[GoGo_Boy]

Fully agree with Guinsoo and Pentragon. Why the hack would should Valve NOW trademark the name of an over many years community-developed game. It obviously has nothing but marketing reasonings behind this and I find it disgusting.

The community really build up this huge project with easily thousands of people suggesting improvements and new content. Now Valve claims all the success under their belt? No thanks. Fuck you Valve.

 

[stormcrow5]

Im fine with valve takeing DotA, people dont seem to realize that DotA is ONLY the WC3 map that got that gametype all the hype it gets the AoS maps are fun sure they wouldent be where they are without DotA, so if valve did TM that game they would be more limited then they think because then they would need to technaly stick to DotA as seen warcraft and it wouldent even effect the clones that are bound to still come out using the AoS bace on bace creep spawning hero controled gameplay, and i doubt anyone can TM a gametype that would just be messed up like someone TMing CTF and not letting anyone have it

 

[Giest4life]

If Valve will let me download their new maps so that I can actually play their DotA clone, then I fully support them and their tyrannical trademarking.

[sub]I've never been able to play DotA because I've never been able to download the damn map before I get booted <,<[/sub]

Just get it here [http://www.getdota.com/]

 

[GoGo_Boy]

I see most people here have no idea how big DotA and all the effort behind it is.
I'd go so far and claim that this is the game with most development work put into it, even though it's "just a Wc3 map".

 

[gerrymander61]

Pendragon and Guinsoo are fools. Icefrog brought the game to where it is today. It is chiefly because of him that the game became and is still wildly popular. DotA pre 6.01 was poorly balanced and not nearly as popular as it has been since Icefrog took over. Pendragon had nothing to do with the development of the game. All he did was maintain the old website before Icefrog opened a better one. If anyone should have the right to trademark it's Eul, the guy who created the original DotA.

I really hope this doesn't go through and not just because I feel that Icefrog has the right to the trademark. Valve is an excellent company and would make the stand alone DotA game we've all been waiting for. Guinsoo is just bitter because Riot Games made a game so legendarily terrible that it stands in a league of its own.

(see what I did there?)

 

[GiantRedButton]

First of the titel is wrong, the dude that wants to stop him and his new company from having the trademark just maintained a site. Before they finally got a good one that is^^ How he can deny BF the trademark is beyond me. And he is not " The original Dota creators"
The team that developed dota works for valve., the team that does the countertrademark think made a dota clone.
If it where the original team i would stand behind this, but a different team that didn't make the ip trying to get the ip from the guys that made it? no thanks.

I respect his opinion, and agree to it. It would go to waste that Valve will be recognized by new players as the "creators" of DOTA, same kinda goes for Alien Swarm: everyone was praising Valve for releasing the game, but few even acknowledge the real creators of the game, those good folks at Black Cat Games.

Those dudes (BCG) where at that point part of valve, their projects where left 4 dead (and 2) + now portal 2.
So when Valve gets credit They kinda do too + the same team that did alien swarm source did the old mod

 

[Outlaw Torn]

Did it not occur to them that Valve are probably being the clever bastards that they usually are and will probably turn everything on its head by revealing something that has nothing to do with DotA but just happens to be called DOTA?

 

[unacomn]

Wait wait wait, I made a Warcraft 2 map that looked like a DotA game. That's it! I'm trademarking it too.

 

[FinalDream]

Did it not occur to them that Valve are probably being the clever bastards that they usually are and will probably turn everything on its head by revealing something that has nothing to do with DotA but just happens to be called DOTA?

like Defence of the Ancestors?

 

[Jared]

How come that does not surprise me...well, I am sure Valve is gonna respond with something, although ,if its the removal of the DOTA trademark...will make me sad ; ;