On September 16, the creators of JavaScript, including Brendan Eich, along with numerous other key members of the JavaScript community, published an open letter accusing Oracle of abandoning the JavaScript trademark and calling on the corporation to release it into the public domain. By September 20, the petition had garnered more than 10,000 signatures.
Oracle’s continued claim to the JavaScript trademark is an anachronism, stemming from a bygone era, as neither Solar nor Oracle have ever developed a product bearing the mark; meanwhile, Oracle’s de facto abandonment of the trademark has led to pervasive confusion and upheaval.
Oracle’s decision to relinquish control over the trademark could help dispel any confusion, according to Dahl, CEO and co-founder of Deno Land, who made this comment on September 19. Would allowing an official specification enable the true declaration that a language is simply JavaScript? As it stands now, the framework labels itself; however, it could potentially accommodate, say, the establishment of a ‘JavaScript Convention,’ noted Dahl. “It could allow companies, such as Deno, to describe themselves as ‘a JavaScript runtime’ without fear of legal action from Oracle.” The Dahl-led group behind the web letter plans to file a petition with the USPTO in October to invalidate the trademark.
