[speculation] if WoD & TDB are fake...

[Sierra85]

if the trademarks Warlords of Draenor & The Dark Below are fake trademarks that blizzard has put out to throw us off the scent, is that ethically okay by you or do you feel it is a bit deceptive?

I feel torn, because on one hand i feel it could be construed as for our benefit, giving the blizz con announcement some actual merit and surprise & fun..

but then on the other hand it's sort of like they have lied to us, or at least acted in a way that is not true. Which is not cool. If a major oil company lied to its customers people would be up in arms, but i guess for an entertainment purposes lies are okay? maybe not a good example but i think you get what i mean.

[frequency]

Seriously?

[Caribald]

How is trademarking something lying?

[Louis CK]

if the trademarks Warlords of Draenor & The Dark Below are fake trademarks that blizzard has put out to throw us off the scent, is that ethically okay by you or do you feel it is a bit deceptive?

I feel torn, because on one hand i feel it could be construed as for our benefit, giving the blizz con announcement some actual merit and surprise & fun..

but then on the other hand it's sort of like they have lied to us, or at least acted in a way that is not true. Which is not cool. If a major oil company lied to its customers people would be up in arms, but i guess for an entertainment purposes lies are okay? maybe not a good example but i think you get what i mean.

They've said nothing to anyone as far as I know.

If I buy a Christmas present for a family member, and my girlfriend sees it and thinks it's for her, am I lying when she gets something else?

[Sierra85]

How is trademarking something lying?

i mean if they do not actually release a product for what they TM. they just lodge fake ones etc to keep us guessing.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

I doubt Blizz would make a fake trademark, and for sure not two, just due to the hassle of it.

However, if TDB is fake and WoD is Warcraft 4, then I really have no idea what to say.

[Magruun]

i mean if they do not actually release a product for what they TM. they just lodge fake ones etc to keep us guessing.

What would they gain from doing that?
grinning at all the people who are falling for their trap?

[Urti]

I'd say that the only ethically dubious activity is the insane levels we as a playerbase A) Go looking for any tiny shred of any evidence for anything. To the point that consumer snooping has seriously impacted how Blizz has to conduct it's business. I'm shocked Metzen can drop a deuce without 5 websites reporting what he apparently had for lunch. B) How quickly we turn on Blizz for literally everything they do. They simply can not do right by this toxic fanbase in any way whatsoever. Blizz could mail every WoW subscriber the cure for cancer and a free puppy, and at least 1,000 assholes would be like "Way to nerf cancer! Fire everyone! They only care about casuals, real hardcore neckbeards are happy to have cancer!".

[Orange Joe]

i mean if they do not actually release a product for what they TM. they just lodge fake ones etc to keep us guessing.

And what if it wasn't them that trademarked it?

[Jaragorn]

I would enjoy it since it would be an actual surprise. Also, they can't really lie in any kind of way I'm seeing. They haven't explicitly stated WoD, DB, or any other mixture of letters is the expansion so if it doesn't turn out to be it's not them lying it's just us jumping to conclusions.

PS: is 'lying' the correct spelling? I don't think I've written/typed that word ever :/

[Aspen]

WoD has been trademarked across the globe now... I think it's time to accept it. It may or may not be the expac but its not some conspiracy theory, come on.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

WoD has been trademarked across the globe now... I think it's time to accept it. It may or may not be the expac but its not some conspiracy theory, come on.

Yeah. It's being used for something, and its being revealed Friday morning.

[Deleted]

you can trademark something you don't need right now. maybe you just want to prevent other publishers to buy these trademarks so you don't need to buy them off these other publishers for a doubled/trippled price.

[willowe]

So you're basically saying:

"What if Blizzard announced a different expansion name, you know one with no Trademark, at Blizzcon?"

I'd start seriously questioning their business sense as a company. And possibly laugh my arse off when someone else Trademarks the Expansion Name before them...

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

So you're basically saying:

"What if Blizzard announced a different expansion name, you know one with no Trademark, at Blizzcon?"

I'd start seriously questioning their business sense as a company. And possibly laugh my arse off when someone else Trademarks the Expansion Name before them...

Quite likely the name would be trademarked in Swaziland and sent over to the US tomorrow.

Still, I'd question who was faking all these global WoD trademarks then. Because it's beyond the reach of one person to trademark a name in that many countries that fast.

[miffy23]

WoD is not fake.
Settle down. Drink some tea. Have a biscuit.

[Louis CK]

WoD is not fake.
Settle down. Drink some tea. Have a biscuit.

That sounds like a terrible combination!

[tauntor]

if the trademarks Warlords of Draenor & The Dark Below are fake trademarks that blizzard has put out to throw us off the scent, is that ethically okay by you or do you feel it is a bit deceptive?

It is deceptive by definition. I mean you literally gave us the definition of deceptive in your first sentence and then asked us if its deceptive.

[willowe]

Instead of asking if they're both fake, what if they're both real?

Blizz has been saying "faster content" for two expansions, what if they announce two expansions at once, TDB first and WoD second, coming 6 mos after TDB? With monthly patches between.

[xskarma]

I think Blizzard has proven they are fine with using minor deception, like posting a trademark for a secret game they have been working on in Swaziland, but I don't think they'd go so far as to register a fake trademark all over the world, just to throw us off the scent of an expansion they will be revealing within a week from the trademark first turning up.

Had this happened 3 or 4 months ago, I would maybe go along with a suspicion it might be a trick, but this close to Blizzcon? Nope.