"Heroes of the Storm" Trademark Application

[Hitei]

That's the kink in all this: Hearthstone is a game that will be played in full on mobile devices, yet doesn't have that "mobile devices" clause. Why would anything WoW-related have that clause, especially when we know WoW won't be playable on a mobile device?

People are bringing up maybe they'll make a fishing or pet battle app....but those are minigames. Hearthstone is literally an entire game that doesn't specify that it can be played on mobile devices.

I think this is a very important point for a completely different reason.

The Hearthstone TM does not list mobile devices, and really doesn't make sense for a physical release with a different name.

World of Warcraft already has mobile functions (AH) but it's TM does not have mobile platforms either. So it's unlikely that a TM for a new expansion would list mobile platforms for something like pet battles. Meaning the TM is probably not wow unless they're planning on releasing some sort of tablet format for the game. (Also I mean... it is sort of an unusual title for an addon to an existing game)

We know it's very unlikely that the Heroes of the Storm TM is for Starcraft or Diablo, since the expansions for both are already known.


Which leaves us with two possibilities.

The first is Blizzard All-stars rebranding, which seems to be the proverbial basket everyone is putting their eggs into.
But I feel there are some problems with this line of logic. First, it's a poor marketing choice for Blizzard to sever their link with the first Dota (the All-stars part of Blizzard All stars) and the company recognition that comes from their name being in the title. Heroes of the Storm also partially resets hype and advertising, if you ask a MOBA fan who is not affiliated Blizzard games, if they've heard of "Heroes of the storm", chances are they aren't going to know what you're talking about... if you ask if they've heard of "Blizzard all-stars" chances are much better they'll know what is going on.

Second, MOBAs are just not a game that can be ported to mobile while retaining their competitive fashion. This means that if Heroes were All-stars, the mobile functionality would be side applications like match streaming, leaderboards, etc. Which, let me remind you, is very similar to Wow's current mobile function... something which is NOT listed on the trademark.

I therefore think that All-stars is not as likely a use of the TM as people make it out to be.

But this leaves us with the second aforementioned possibility.
And I'd like you to temporarily suspend your notions about this and hear me out.

There is a note-worthy possibility that Heroes of the Storm is Titan, and here is why.

(NOTE: I am not in any way saying Heroes IS Titan, or even that it is MORE likely than any other possibility, just that the possibility exists and should not be arbitrarily brushed away)

To start with the flimsiest of evidence, let us remember that Titan is simply the code name for the project.
That is, Titan is a project that as far as we know, doesn't have a name yet. An unnamed brand new game. It's my personal opinion that "Heroes of the Storm" is a much more fitting title for a stand alone game than an expansion or addon. It's just that sort of title, unlike, say... Mists of Pandaria.

Titan as a code name doesn't refer to the Titans in wow, but to the general word Titan.
We can assume that Titan is related in a subtle way to whatever the game is about, similar to how Hydra was related to Diablo 3, in that way that Hydras are monsters who are very often depicted with three heads.

The Titans of mythology are primal deities embodying the natural world, and so have a potential connection to the idea of Storms, as well as originating from the same Mythology as the Heroic age (i.e. the age of Heroes). But again, flimsiest evidence.


Many people seem to be ignoring the possibility of Titan info at Blizzcon because of the project reset, but (as I've pointed out in several posts in different threads now) the project was only pushed back to ~2016 release, even if we assume that's a full year off (2017) that's just over three years away. Diablo 3 was announced and fully revealed FOUR years (3 years 10 months I guess) before the game's release date. This means that it is entirely possible for the 2013 Blizzcon to contain the Titan Announcement. The company has been through some relatively hard times recently with the stock issues, Diablo 3 release and WoW's sub decline... A Blizzcon with extensive info on D3 updates and expansion, a new out of the park wow expansion, Hearthstone... a game which seems to have the potential to be quite massive in its own right, AND the unveiling of Project Titan would do absolute wonders to reassure stockholders and force the gaming community to take a second look at Blizzard as the community is being enticed by the next generation of consoles.

The last issue I want to cover is the same one I started with.

The mobile platform section of the trademark. The red flag that is stirring up all speculation about Heroes of the Storm, as it's the only thing differentiating it from previous game TMs. I've already pointed out ways in which it seems odd for the mobile section to be in the TM for Blizzard's current IPs.
But let us consider how it works with Titan.

Unlike the other games Blizzard has, we know nothing about it's gameplay, setting, etc, etc.

One of the few things we know about the game is that it's been planned as a more casual MMO. I believe this is the important point. The mobile and tablet platform is a HIGHLY CASUAL market. The very nature of mobile/tablet devices makes them very suited for quick casual gameplay and NOT suited for any sort of competitive or in depth game.

This seems to me to be a perfect pairing. A new age MMO where significant portions of the game can be accessed through mobile devices and tablets, so much so that it is intrinsically designed to have people using those platforms and actually warrants putting them in the list of Trademarked formats. It's also something that, if done well, could set Titan apart from an MMO market filled with dozens of failed attempts to bring something truly new and unique to the genre--Something Blizzard would clearly have to do if they plan on running both MMOs simultaneously without negative inner competition.

Just my $0.08, apologies if this was somewhat long winded.


tl;dr

-Diablo 3 was announced 4 years before release, meaning we could see Titan at Blizzcon for a 2016/2017 release.
-Titan is a casual MMO, mobile/tablet is a casual platform and separate market from WoW.
-There seem to be large holes in Heroes of the Storm being used for the current Blizzard games.

Heroes of the Storm could be project Titan.

[Deleted]

Blizzard MobA

[Darrowshire]

Heroes of the Storm has been trademarked in Canada. Updating OP with info as I type.

[Deleted]

It's so 80's

[D4NNYB0Y]

That isn't a hole, I wasn't referring to the time between copyrights and release.
The point was that the game itself was announced (unveiled for the first time) in mid 2008 and wasn't released until four years later.
So there's no reason that Titan at a 2016, 2017 or even 2018 release date, couldn't be announced this year. That doesn't mean announcing beta, it just means that gameplay/setting/etc would be shown.

When the game was trademarked is irrelevant, Diablo 3 wasn't TM'd in 2008 because as you pointed out, it was already protected by an active TM.
Titan is not, so it will get a Trademark right before its announcement.

And again, a trademark doesn't need to be for a product actively sold, if you can prove that it is in the active process of being developed for use it is enough to qualify as "in use".

It is a standard part of the application process in the US to send a Notice of Allowance and request a Statement of Use within a few months of filing. It is standard business practice for Blizzard to file Extension Requests (typically 1 or 2) putting off their SOU until a given title is in beta, and then sending it in. If the game is already in beta or released (which has happened) then they send in their SOU immediately. I have looked at every single Blizzard video game trademark application, looked at their prosecution history, looked up when they started sending out closed beta invites for a given title, and looked up when their closed betas began. This is their consistent pattern with every property dating back to the 90's that had invite-only closed betas (which is most of them.) Based on that research it is my belief that use= closed beta with public participants.

That said, HotS is filed under Basis 1(b):

http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/proc...1btimeline.jsp

http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/teas/intent_to_use.jsp

Blizzard has about 3 years from now to get HotS open to at least a tiny portion of the public. Is it possible that Titan will be in beta about 3 years from now? Absolutely, but it's far from a certainty especially given the recent setbacks, 2016 is their best case scenario which should never be planned around, it's very unusual for Blizzard to file 5 extensions and when they have, they have either abandoned those marks only to refile about 4 years later (Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void) or abandoned the mark entirely (Starcraft:Ghost), and it's an unnecessary expense ($150 per class of goods and services per extension request) on Blizzard's part. You of course could be right, but I don't think the scenario you've presented is any more likely than the others (Hearthstone related, BAS rebranding, WoW expansion, new franchise, and whatever else people have come up with.)

Also, just as an aside I would find it extremely strange for Blizzard to announce Titan when we just heard it is essentially in development hell.

TL;DR Your theory is definitely possible, but I don't think it's any more likely than anything else.

[Hitei]

There's a hole in your theory regarding Titan and Diablo III. Diablo III was never separately trademarked. Blizzard has 3 Diablo trademarks dating back to 1996: one covers Class 9 (filed in 1996), one covers Class 16 (filed in 1996), and one covers Class 41 (filed in 2005.) This was before, it appears, the system was updated so that you could file one trademark for multiple classes. There is no trademark for Diablo II or Diablo III. There are trademarks for Lord of Destruction and Reaper of Souls, however, which is consistent with their other titles (they trademark words like Warcraft, WoW, Starcraft, and Diablo and then individually trademark expansion names.)

In other words they could have announced Diablo III a decade before release, and it wouldn't have mattered as they already own the rights to Diablo which gives them priority for Diablo II, III, IV, V, VI, etc.

Also, Blizzard never said that Titan was coming out in 2016. They said that 2016 was the *earliest* it would be released. For all we know it could be released in 2020. Considering how uncertain Titan's fate is at the moment as they've cut and moved staff working on the project significantly I doubt they would trademark anything for it at this time. The mark would likely die unless they were absolutely certain it was releasing in early 2016 as they've never delayed sending in their Statement of Use for that long. In the cases where they did trademark too early (Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void for example) they failed to send in their SOU's, let those marks die, and reapplied years later.

That isn't a hole, I wasn't referring to the time between copyrights and release.
The point was that the game itself was announced (unveiled for the first time) in mid 2008 and wasn't released until four years later.
So there's no reason that Titan at a 2016, 2017 or even 2018 release date, couldn't be announced this year. That doesn't mean announcing beta, it just means that gameplay/setting/etc would be shown.

When the game was trademarked is irrelevant, Diablo 3 wasn't TM'd in 2008 because as you pointed out, it was already protected by an active TM.
Titan is not, so it will get a Trademark right before its announcement.

And again, a trademark doesn't need to be for a product actively sold, if you can prove that it is in the active process of being developed for use it is enough to qualify as "in use".


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With a statement of use, the owner must submit: (1) a filing fee of $100 per class of goods/services; and (2) one specimen showing use of the mark in commerce for each class of goods/services.

For goods: the mark must appear on the goods, the container for the goods, or displays associated with the goods, and the goods must be sold or transported in commerce.
For services: the mark must be used or displayed in the sale or advertising of the services, and the services must be rendered in commerce.

Also, you realize that the game doesn't have to be released for the mark to be in commerce right?
Them ordering posters with "Heroes of the storm" on it for Blizzcon is enough, because the Trademark lists posters as a use.

[Kaniinchen]

Did anyone else notice that the Blizzcon Murloc itself looks like an Ogre? ...Specifically High King Maulgar?

[Hitei]

Did anyone else notice that the Blizzcon Murloc itself looks like an Ogre? ...Specifically High King Maulgar?

It's a Diablo 3 RoS crusader murloc

[Kaniinchen]

It's a Diablo 3 RoS crusader murloc

Yes the weapons and armour, but the murloc skin itself (toenails, the protruding horn things, teeth) is very Ogre looking.

[Hitei]

Yes the weapons and armour, but the murloc skin itself (toenails, the protruding horn things, teeth) is very Ogre looking.

I guess I could see that.

[deviantcultist]

It's so 80's

Priceless comment. Although that is how I feel about WoW all the time.

[Deleted]

tl;dr

-Diablo 3 was announced 4 years before release, meaning we could see Titan at Blizzcon for a 2016/2017 release.
-Titan is a casual MMO, mobile/tablet is a casual platform and separate market from WoW.
-There seem to be large holes in Heroes of the Storm being used for the current Blizzard games.

Heroes of the Storm could be project Titan.

- Blizzard is trolling and is just spending some $ to confuse us and make false hints :P

the atmosphere before Blizzcon is hotter then ever because of "the dark below", "heroes of the storm", possible other name of expansion and WoW:The Movie. so it might be just a marketing plan before Blizzcon

[TheRealDavidTwo]

At least nobody tried to do another one of those super fake video screenshots of the Heroes of the Storm logo yet.

Yeah, I'm still calling this fake, by the way. It was proven that anyone can register trademarks under other company names.

[CosmicGuitars]

I know this probably doesn't mean much at this point, but the trademark for "Heroes of the Storm" has been filed and formalized in the Canadian trademark database. I don't think any question remains of the legitimacy of this trademark, now, whatever it may be.

[Hitei]

I know this probably doesn't mean much at this point, but the trademark for "Heroes of the Storm" has been filed and formalized in the Canadian trademark database. I don't think any question remains of the legitimacy of this trademark, now, whatever it may be.

Neat.
I wish they'd do teasers more often.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Dunno. Been years since Blizzard has had us guessing in such a manner.

Don't think it's Blizz that's got us guessing.

Heroes of the Storm would be pretty quickly pegged for what it is, a rebranding of Blizzard All-Stars, had we not gone through 3 hoax trademarks the month before.

- - - Updated - - -

I know this probably doesn't mean much at this point, but the trademark for "Heroes of the Storm" has been filed and formalized in the Canadian trademark database. I don't think any question remains of the legitimacy of this trademark, now, whatever it may be.

Gonna grab this one before it gets out of hand.

The Canadian trademark doesn't have a special ID for mobile gaming, but "game software for use on portable electronic devices such as mobile and cellular phones, laptops, handheld computers, and tablet PCs" does appear at the end of the Wares section.

[Teriz]

Anyone think that "The Dark Below" was their initial title for the next expansion, and "Heroes of the Storm" is their new one?

[Hitei]

Anyone think that "The Dark Below" was their initial title for the next expansion, and "Heroes of the Storm" is their new one?

They are very different titles..

[huth]

Anyone think that "The Dark Below" was their initial title for the next expansion, and "Heroes of the Storm" is their new one?

I don't think they are for the same product, even if they were both legit. The "feeling" is way to different.

[Deleted]

Anyone think that "The Dark Below" was their initial title for the next expansion, and "Heroes of the Storm" is their new one?

no :P coz they are totally different. but maybe one is for expansion and other for next(coz i'm sure that they know what will happen in next 2 expansions) :P
but TDB sound much more like WoW expansion title.