Free ‘JavaScript’ from Legal Clutches of Oracle, Devs Petition

A movement is afoot to wrest the name “JavaScript” away from Oracle, which, to the surprise of many, still owns the trademark for the web programming language.

“JavaScript has become a general-purpose term used by countless individuals and companies, independent of any Oracle product,” wrote Node.js and Deno creator Ryan Dahl in an “Open Letter to Oracle,” which argues that Oracle has abandoned the JavaScript trademark and that it should be moved to the public domain for the benefit of “millions” of JavaScript developers worldwide.

The letter links to a petition calling for Oracle to give up the trademark, which, as of posting time has gotten over 2,500 signatures.

The group movement has the backing of some of JavaScript‘s heaviest hitters, including the creator of JavaScript himself Brendan Eich, Svelte framework creator Rich Harris and Node.js Technical Steering Committee member James Snell.

The letter follows up on an earlier appeal from Dahl made in 2022. This round, however, Dahl is upping the stakes: Dahl plans to file a petition to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, to cancel the trademark, making the case the company has abandoned the name.

Oracle has not immediately responded to TNS’ request for comment.

Why Oracle Holds the JavaScript Trademark

Oracle acquired the JavaScript trademark, along with the “Java” name, in 2009 with its purchase of Sun Microsystems.

Eich created JavaScript in 1995, for a partnership between Netscape and Sun, to add scripting capabilities to the Netscape browser, as a way to make the sites on the then-newish web more interactive.

Although (very) loosely based on the syntax of Sun’s own cross-platform object-oriented Java, JavaScript was an entirely different language designed for a completely different use case.

Junior programmers are often told that Java is different from JavaScript like a car is different from a carpet.

But while Oracle continues to commercially support Java for enterprise software development, as well as vigorously enforce the Java trademark, it has all but ignored JavaScript language and community.

This is problematic for JavaScript communities, which perhaps fear legal percussions from using the name officially in their work. Advances in the language are documented through ECMAScript specification, not through a specification of its own name. JavaScript conferences such as JSConf, can not, legally, use the name JavaScript.

Oracle itself uses JavaScript only minimally in its own products.

Currently, it offers only the JavaScript Extension Toolkit (JET) for its cloud services, and the GRaalVM a Java virtual machine that supports JavaScript.

“Oracle’s use of JavaScript in GraalVM and JET does not reflect genuine use of the trademark,” Dahl argued.

Oracle is not even a member of the OpenJS Foundation, he added.

Snooze and Lose?

Because Oracle is not enforcing its trademark, Dahl feels he can make the case before USPTO that the database giant has abandoned the name.

“Unlike typical trademark holders who protect their trademarks by extracting licensing fees or enforcing usage restrictions, Oracle has allowed the JavaScript name to be used by anyone,” Dahl wrote.

“This inaction further supports the argument that the trademark has lost its significance and has become generic.”

By Title 15 of the United States Code (section 1127), a party can lose the right to a trademark if it is not used in trade for a period of three years or longer. A party can also lose rights to a trademark by failing to police third-party use of the word, rendering it as a generic term.

Both are happening here, Dahl argued.

The Tiobe Index lists JavaScript as the seventh most widely used programming language worldwide. Still, not everyone seems to be aware of the Oracle connection

“I’ve been a JavaScript developer for over 20 years and never knew it was actually connected to Oracle, other than the falsely implied connection to Java,” one person wrote on X.