This week, the dispute over the Blizzard.tv name (Case Number: 1528644) was withdrawn after being filed with the National Arbitration Forum back in early November.
So, the question is, were the lawyers at Blizzard Entertainment just trying to defend their intellectual property or does the company have something more planned for Blizzard.tv?
Like, say, a potential competitor to the live game streaming service Twitch.tv.
Blizzard doesn’t often file disputes, and hadn’t filed a complaint since 2011 when it won the transfer of worldoflordcraft.com. So, why now?
Though the complainant in the Blizzard.tv dispute wasn’t officially revealed, it’s pretty much guaranteed that Blizzard Entertainment is behind it. At the time of this story, Blizzard.tv is registered to intellectual property law firm Christie, Parker & Hale LLP – the same firm that has represented Blizzard in past disputes for names like Blizzard-North.com (Claim Number: FA0302000146620). And since the complaint was withdrawn, the domain redirects visitors to Blizzard.com.
Often times, when a domain name complaint is withdrawn, both parties have come to an agreement. And because Blizzard had no guarantee of winning the dispute, it’s possible the previous registrant received some type of payment.
Whether Blizzard Entertainment has something in store for the domain, is only speculation at this point. But live game streaming has become very popular and Twitch has a virtual monopoly.
Last month, Blizzard live streamed an event on Battle.net, prompting one Reddit user to say, “Blizzard should make their own Twitch”.
Talking about this story: Ubergizmo, JudgeHype, Blizz Pro and OnGamers
(Image of StarCraft II Pro Players via Blizzard.com)