JavaScript Advocates Demand Oracle Release Trademark

An open letter, published on September 16, has been gaining traction within the JavaScript community, accusing Oracle of neglecting the JavaScript trademark and urging the company to release the trademark to the public domain. The letter, authored by prominent figures in the JavaScript community, had amassed over 10,000 signatures by September 20.

The letter highlights the belief that Oracle’s ownership of the JavaScript trademark is outdated, originating from its acquisition of Sun Microsystems, and asserts that neither Sun nor Oracle has utilized the trademark in a significant product. “Oracle’s relinquishing of the trademark would ease confusion,” commented Ryan Dahl, CEO and co-founder of Deno Land, on September 19. He further explained that it would enable the official JavaScript specification documents to use the name and allow for events such as a ‘JavaScript Conference’ without fearing legal repercussions from Oracle.

The community members behind the letter intend to submit a petition to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in October to formally request the cancellation of the trademark.

Two years ago, a similar effort urged Oracle to relinquish the trademark, but it received no response, according to Dahl. He expressed his dedication to advancing JavaScript through his work with Deno, describing it as a critical component of web infrastructure on par with technologies like HTTP, HTML, and CSS.

When approached for comment on September 19, Oracle had not provided a response. The petition argues that Oracle has never actively marketed a product named JavaScript, reinforcing claims of the trademark’s neglect.