A scorching potato: JavaScript is without doubt one of the hottest programming languages on the planet and a cornerstone of the trendy net. JavaScript can also be “owned” by Oracle. Nevertheless, that would quickly change with an effort from the JS neighborhood to free the trademark from the clutches of Larry Ellison’s company.
Some outstanding figures within the JavaScript neighborhood have formally requested the USPTO to cancel Oracle’s possession of the “JavaScript” trademark. Solar Microsystems utilized for the unique trademark after growing the language. Oracle got here beneath possession when it acquired Solar in 1997. Nevertheless, Oracle has made no invaluable contributions to JavaScript and allegedly dedicated fraud when it renewed the trademark just a few years in the past.
The USPTO petition was filed by Deno Land, the group that manages the namesake Deno runtime for JavaScript, TypeScript, and WebAssembly. Two months in the past, Node.js creator Ryan Dahl and JavaScript creator Brendan Eich, along with different members of the JS neighborhood, authored an open letter asking Oracle to abandon its JavaScript trademark.
The formal petition filed with the USPTO got here after greater than 14,000 folks had signed the open letter. Dahl mentioned the petition is a pivotal step to releasing JavaScript from baseless authorized entanglements, recognizing that the programming language is now a public good {that a} single entity like Oracle can not personal.
It is completed. Now it is your flip, @Oracle.
We have submitted a proper petition to cancel the JavaScript trademark: it’s generic, Oracle has deserted it, and Oracle dedicated fraud on the USPTO over the past trademark renewal.
Oracle has till January 4th to reply, or the…
– Deno (@deno_land) November 25, 2024
Three claims type the idea of the petition. The primary is that JavaScript has grow to be genericized. JavaScript is the common title adopted by builders for the ECMAScript customary, utilized by hundreds of thousands of individuals worldwide independently of Oracle.
“By regulation, emblems which have grow to be generic can not stay emblems,” Dahl mentioned.
The second is that Oracle dedicated fraud when re-applying for the trademark in 2019. Deno claims Oracle used screenshots of Node.js, a JS venture that has nothing to do with Oracle, as proof for JavaScript’s business use.
Lastly, the petition claims that Oracle deserted the trademark by not promoting any significant services or products based mostly on JavaScript. Thus, the corporate has deserted the trademark.
Oracle has till January 4, 2025, to reply to the submitting. Dahl hopes Oracle will select to relinquish its trademark peacefully. If Oracle decides to go to warfare, Deno and others within the JS neighborhood are able to battle in courtroom with a “wealth of proof” proving Oracle has legally misplaced its proper to possession.
