Online game publisher Weilai Baoxue, which translates as "Future Blizzard" in English, received a cease and desist letter from Blizzard game company accusing the Chinese company of violating the Blizzard trademark and asking them to stop using the name.
Lu Ming, marketing department manager for Weilai Baoxue, told Interfax that in the letter, Blizzard informed them that 'Baoxue' has already been registered in China as a service trademark. Blizzard said that it had the legal right to file a lawsuit, but was willing to discuss a settlement before taking legal action.
Lu said the name was chosen out of respect for Blizzard. In a previous interview, an official with the company had said that they wished to grow into a 'Chinese Blizzard', specializing in the Chinese online game industry.
Weilai Baoxue is the publisher of King Kong Online, a cyber game in which robots fight with each other. The company received venture capital in 2006 and recruited more online game operators. Internal testing for the game commenced in May and public testing is planned within the year.
Lu told Interfax that the company has not yet decided its next step in the dispute with Blizzard.
|
