eSports Archives – We're Fusible

This week, the dispute over the Blizzard.tv name (Case Number: 1528644) was withdrawn after being filed with the National Arbitration Forum back in early November.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 And since the complaint was withdrawn, the domain redirects visitors to Blizzard.com.

Often times, when a domain name complaint is withdrawn, both parties have come to an agreement.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)

Riot Games (League of Legends maker) builds mobile team, gets RiotGames.mobi

Riot Games may dominate the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) market in the PC universe with League of Legends, but today, it has yet to enter the mobile MOBA market.

A market that is very small but has big possibilities.

Though League of Legends may not be ready for gaming on the go, Riot Games is ramping up its mobile development teams as shown by job openings posted online.

This week, the company even acquired the domain name RiotGames.mobi (Whois). Dotmobi is the top-level domain introduced for the mobile web. Of course, while obtaining the name may be nothing more than a move by the company to protect its intellectual property, there are plenty of signs that Riot is focusing efforts in the mobile arena.

In late August, Riot posted a job for a Mobile Product Manager in Santa Monica. The listing says the company is building a dynamic, fast-moving Riot Mobile team to help the company develop and create mobile solutions.

The website RiotGames.mobi is currently a parked web page at the time of this story.

It’s unknown whether Riot had to fork out cash to get the name or if it simply had its legal department contact the previous owner. The domain was acquired through the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor. According to Whois history, the name was originally registered anonymously in 2010 and changed ownership to Riot Games this week.

There are developers in the mobile MOBA market.

This October, Gameloft will be releasing the mobile game Heroes of Order & Chaos.

As Pocket Gamer points out in a recent story, Gameloft will be copying the League of Legends tactic of making six characters free for a week at a time, with the option to buy them outright with real money should they take your fancy.

There hasn’t been much news out of Riot regarding its mobile game plans, but with all the mobile job openings being posted, it may not be too long before more is known.

And in case you’re wondering, Riot Games does own the domain leagueoflegends.mobi. The company has owned the web address name since 2008. Today, the web address redirects users to LeagueofLegends.com.

Talking about this story: Kotaku

(Image of Riot Games Dublin offices via RiotGames.com)