Blizzard Going After WoW Related iPhone Apps 87
An anonymous reader writes "Apparently Blizzard is going after developers making iPhone apps for World of Warcraft (free and otherwise) by giving them cease-and-desist orders. As Mike Schramm says 'Blizzard may be planning to do more with the iPhone,' but 'It would be a real shame if Blizzard legal was simply going after fans who have invested a lot of time and effort into these apps even when there's no clear reason for them to do so.'"
It's interesting that they're doing so around the same time a video for a (rumored, alleged, unconfirmed — take your pick) iPhone client for World of Warcraft has been floating around.
Re:Dear Blizzard... (Score:2, Interesting)
...getting distracted with flame wars.
RIP Tseric [wowwiki.com]
Re:Wow! Way to be behind Slashdot! (Score:2, Interesting)
My favorite e-drama was with Nihilum/SK-Gaming:
http://serbandsteel.dingblog.com/?loadblog=524&cm= [dingblog.com]
And Why.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Is the Apple silo so vaulted for the iphone? Isn't this what the Android model can help avoid? Sure, you won't get the program in the marketplace, but you sure can host it in another country where the C&D doesn't mean much and keep on innovating. Umm... Unless Blizzard forgot, these are people who are making free publicity and advertising for their pay application. Wouldn't you want to "integrate" the app into someone's life to ensure that when the time comes to cut the budget in the household, that is one of the last things to be cut? I would figure a better way to do it would be to say "listen, thanks for the free pub... We want it to look a little more like things, OK?" Do that, you get good will AND you get a more readily integrated subscriber who is less reticent about removing the Blizzard line item from his/her budget.
Re:Nominative use; proceed and permit (Score:2, Interesting)
When the title is "Warcraft Arena Calculator"
This implies that the maker endorses it.
It doesn't say "Arena Calculator", with "Warcraft compatible" in the description.
It's using the trademark as if it was a Blizzard Warcraft product, and this will definitely cause confusion.
Blizzard has to defend their mark, or Warcraft might eventually get declared a generic name.
OK so... (Score:3, Interesting)
Say I write an app that does not use or distrubute any Blizzard content, nor does it use their API. The app does not use "Warcraft" in the name. It might store, calculate or reproduce information related to Wow that I have originated or collected solely from non-Blizzard sources that have already OK'd my use of it.
I cannot see how Blizzard can have any legal case to stop me selling my app.
That would be like McDonalds having a legal right to prevent me from selling my own original hamburger recipe, even though I have never worked for, or signed anything with, McDonalds.