DOTA 2 COMMUNITY STREAM POLICY

Valve provides an in-game spectator tool (“DotaTV”) that makes it possible for community creators to create commentary videos and other streams of DOTA 2 tournaments and leagues (“Community Streams”).

Anybody who runs esports tournaments or leagues (“Operator”) may publish a reasonable and simple to execute set of requirements for Community Streams of their events (“Event Streaming Requirements”).

As a community member, you have Valve’s permission to produce Community Streams about DOTA 2 events ONLY if ALL of the below applies to you:

  • The content of your Community Stream is based exclusively on DotaTV and content you have originally created or licensed.

  • You fully comply with any Event Streaming Requirements that the Operator may choose to publish.

  • If no Event Streaming Requirements have been published by the Operator then your Community Stream must still be non-commercial.

FAQ

Q: I am not aware of Tournament Streaming Requirements for the tournament I want to broadcast. Can I just go ahead with my Community Stream?

A: It is your responsibility to ensure that you have not missed them. If in doubt, reach out to the Operator well ahead of the tournament.

Q: I tried to reach the Operator but they have not answered me. Can I assume I’m fine?

A: As a rule of thumb reach out at least two weeks before the event through the official communication channels of the Operator either in English or the Operator’s native language. If you do not receive any response and have not been able to find Event Streaming Requirements in spite of your best efforts you can assume there are none.

Q: What Event Streaming Requirements would you consider reasonable?

A: It is not possible to come up with an exhaustive set of possible requirements but here are some that we would consider reasonable if an Operator imposed them:

  • Requiring the producers of Community Streams to sign up through a free and public process set up by the Operator of the event

  • Keeping the Community Stream strictly non-commercial

  • Including the logos of certain tournament sponsors in the Community Stream, provided that the sponsors’ products are legal in the territory that the Community Stream is targeted at

  • Having a time delay of up to 15 minutes

We would not consider requirements reasonable if they included a payment or if they were so strict or complicated that they effectively block good-faith Community Streams. We also encourage tournament organizers to try and reach out to streamers they think might not be complying with their requirements to ensure their awareness and give an opportunity to get things in order before taking any further action.

Q: What can I do if I feel an Operator is publishing unreasonable rules or is otherwise abusing the system?

A: If you experience what you consider an abuse of this system, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected]

Q: What exactly do you mean by “non-commercial”?

Our general video policy goes into some detail on that. Also, we consider every stream run on a casting organization’s accounts to be commercial in nature, even if it includes no visible paid content or sponsorship messages.