Tag: Blizzard

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Disputes National Arbitration Forum Video Games

Blizzard Entertainment takes ownership of mysterious Heroes of Warcraft domain

Heroes of Warcraft

Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard Entertainment has taken ownership of the domain HeroesofWarcraft.com.

Back in November 2012, the gaming company filed a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) against the owner, setting off speculation about the company’s future plans and rumblings that Warcraft IV might be in the works.

The dispute for the domain name was won by Blizzard Entertainment, but not in the traditional sense.  Instead of waiting on a decision to be handed down by the NAF arbitration panel, the complaint (Case No. 1470639) was withdrawn and the original owner transferred the name to Blizzard this week.  The WHOIS record now shows “BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC.” as the registrant.

It’s unknown how the two sides arrived at an agreement or whether any money exchanged hands.

So, what is Heroes of Warcraft?

As I pointed out in my story in November, Warcraft III started out as a game called Heroes of Warcraft, but was ultimately called Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.

A lot of people have their own theories, however, Blizzard still has yet to announce anything official, so for now, a game being released called “Heroes of Warcraft” remains speculation.

As of today, Blizzard also owns HeroesofWarcraft.net (WHOIS) and HeroesofWarcraft.co.uk (WHOIS), but none of the names including HeroesofWarcraft.com, resolve to a web page.

Talking about this story: PC Games, MMO Champion and OnlineWelten.com

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Disputes National Arbitration Forum News Video Games

Warcraft IV? Blizzard Entertainment files complaint over HeroesofWarcraft.com

Heroes of Warcraft

Over the past year, Blizzard Entertainment has made a number of domain acquisitions including StarCraft.com, nearly 15 years after the game’s first release.  The company also registered the name WarcraftBattles.com just last month for unknown reasons.

Now, Blizzard Entertainment is attempting to acquire the domain HeroesofWarcraft.com, only instead of having to pay what may be a lot of money demanded by its current owner, the company has filed a complaint (Case No. 1470639) with the National Arbitration Forum in hopes of the name being ordered transferred to their control.

Will “Heroes of Warcraft” be the title of the next Warcraft?

According to WHOIS records, HeroesofWarcraft.com is currently registered to a resident of the United Kingdom.  Originally hidden behind Go Daddy’s Domains By Proxy (DBP) service, Go Daddy removed the privacy service on the domain in the past week, revealing the identity of the owner.

It’s unknown what Blizzard has planned for “Heroes of Warcraft” or why the company had to file a dispute, but the company hinted at something more for Heroes of Warcraft back in September when it registered the name HeroesofWarcraft.co.uk (WHOIS).

WHOIS: HeroesofWarcraft.co.uk

Warcraft III started out as a game called Heroes of Warcraft, but was ultimately called Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.

Blizzard Entertainment is no stranger to the UDRP, having filed its first case back in 2007 over worldofwarcraft.es and winning.

To win this dispute, the company must demonstrate that all of the elements enumerated in paragraph 4(a) of the Policy have been satisfied:

(1) that the disputed domain name registered by the Respondent is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights; and

(2) that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name; and

(3) that the disputed domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith

I will update this post as more information becomes available.

Talking about this story: gamona.de, Joystiq, Escapist Magazine, games.on.net, Buffed.de, ComputerGames.ro, PC Games, InsideGamer, Gamenguide, Gameranx, NeoGAF, GamingBolt, Strategy Informer, VG247 and Eurogamer.net

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News Video Games

Nearly 15 years after first release, Blizzard has acquired StarCraft.com [UPDATED]

StarCraft

For years, the website StarCraft.com has flip-flopped between being home to a Starcraft Marine boat site and an online RV Buyer’s Guide.  It has never hosted information for Blizzard’s real-time strategy game StarCraft.

The official StarCraft website can be found on Blizzard.com, but that could be about to change.

According to Whois, the domain name StarCraft.com no longer belongs to its previous owners.  The name is now registered to DNStination, Inc., a privacy service of the global internet brand-protection company MarkMonitor, of which Blizzard Entertainment is a client.

Names like WarCraft.fr and Blizzard.fr are just two examples of many names owned by Blizzard Entertainment and registered through MarkMonitor.

At this point, it’s unknown if Blizzard paid money for the name or whether the company threatened legal action.  Given there is no record of a complaint being filed over StarCraft.com, Blizzard likely paid a pretty price for securing rights to the domain name.

For now, it’s only speculation that Blizzard acquired the name, but don’t be surprised to see the name being used by Blizzard very soon.

The sequel StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty was released in 2010.  An expansion pack StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm is expected to be released in 2012, although no official date has been announced.

I’ve reached out to StarCraft.com’s previous owners via e-mail to inquire about the transaction and will update this post if I hear back.

[UPDATE 2 June 27, 2012:. It’s official: Blizzard is the owner of StarCraft.com and StarCraft.net.  The Whois records here and here now show Blizzard Entertainment as the registrant.]

[UPDATE 1 June 25, 2012:. StarCraft.net was also acquired from the same owner, according to Whois.]

Talking about this story: VG247, Lazygamer, MeriStation and Videogamer.com

(Image of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty via Blizzard.com)

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News Video Games

Blizzard knows domains; Warcraft.com, Diablo.com, Battle.net, many more

Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard Entertainment, the makers of some of the most popular computer games of all-time, ranging from World of Warcraft to Diablo, not only focus on creating amazing entertainment experiences, but they also focus on using generic keyword domain names for their company and several of their products.

The company’s web site  runs on the domain name Blizzard.com: a site that gets well over 500K unique visitors every month.  They’ve owned and operated Blizzard.com as their company website as far back as 1996, but that’s just one of many names they’ve owned and operated since the early nineties.  Other names include Battle.net and Diablo.com.

While Blizzard doesn’t own every one of their product names, like Starcraft.com (Starcraft Marine who manufacture boats and pontoons own starcraft.com), the operators of Blizzard Entertainment certainly understand the value of domain names – and they have understood the power of domain names and the internet for years and years.

Their domains may not be “category-killer” names as one of our readers has pointed out (thanks ggc), but they certainly are premium generic keyword names that have been built into their own online successful brands – rather than just sitting parked, or changing owners every few years to the next highest buyer.

With an amazing track record of developing computer games, they’ve been matching their games with domain names.

Diablo, the action/RPG game is matched up to Diablo.com.

Warcraft, the game with over 11 million players online, is setup with Warcraft.com.  If you type warcraft.com into your browser, you’re redirected to Blizzard’s battle.net page for a 10 day FREE trial to World of Warcraft.  Battle.net receives over 1 million unique visitors per month according to the latest Compete.com profile.

The List goes on and on.  To top it off, they acquire the .net and .org versions, too.  From Blizzard.net to Warcraft.org.

If you’ve wondered if there are end user companies out there who get domain names – Blizzard Entertainment is a great example of an innovative company with a great portfolio of names.