A contentious issue: JavaScript, a fundamental programming language for the modern web, is currently under the ownership of Oracle. However, there is a growing movement within the JavaScript community to challenge Oracle’s control over the trademark.
Key figures in the JavaScript community have formally requested the USPTO to revoke Oracle’s ownership of the “JavaScript” trademark. Despite Sun Microsystems initially applying for the trademark before Oracle’s acquisition, Oracle has made minimal contributions to the language and is accused of fraudulent behavior during the trademark renewal process.
The petition to the USPTO was initiated by Deno Land, the organization behind the Deno runtime for JavaScript, TypeScript, and WebAssembly. In support of this effort, Node.js creator Ryan Dahl and JavaScript creator Brendan Eich, along with other community members, penned an open letter urging Oracle to release its claim on the JavaScript trademark.
Following the open letter, a formal petition was submitted to the USPTO after garnering over 14,000 signatures. The aim of this legal action is to disentangle JavaScript from Oracle’s control, recognizing it as a public asset that should not be monopolized by a single entity.
It’s done. Now it’s your turn, @Oracle. We’ve submitted a formal petition to cancel the JavaScript trademark: it is generic, Oracle has abandoned it, and Oracle committed fraud on the USPTO during the last trademark renewal. Oracle has until January 4th to respond, or the…
– Deno (@deno_land) November 25, 2024
The petition is based on three primary claims. Firstly, JavaScript has become a generic term widely used by developers worldwide, independent of Oracle’s involvement, and therefore should not be trademarked.
Secondly, Oracle is accused of fraudulent behavior in their 2019 trademark renewal application by misrepresenting JavaScript’s commercial usage with unrelated project screenshots.
Lastly, the petition argues that Oracle has effectively abandoned the trademark by failing to offer significant products or services related to JavaScript.
Oracle has until January 4, 2025, to respond to the petition. While Dahl hopes for an amicable resolution, he asserts that the JavaScript community is prepared to engage in legal proceedings if necessary to secure the language’s independence.
