JavaScript Leaders Urge Oracle to Release Trademark
A group of influential figures in the JavaScript community, including Node.js and Deno creator Ryan Dahl and JavaScript’s original creator Brendan Eich, have publicly called on Oracle to relinquish its trademark on JavaScript. In an open letter published on September 16, they argue that Oracle has effectively abandoned the trademark and should release it into the public domain. The letter, titled “Oracle, it’s time to free JavaScript,” quickly gained traction, gathering over 10,000 signatures by September 20.
The letter claims that Oracle’s ownership of the JavaScript trademark is a mere holdover from its 2009 acquisition of Sun Microsystems. It points out that neither Sun nor Oracle has ever developed a product under the JavaScript name, yet Oracle continues to maintain control over the trademark. This has led to ongoing confusion in the industry, forcing the official JavaScript specification to refer to itself as ECMAScript instead of its widely recognized name.
Ryan Dahl, CEO of Deno Land, emphasized that Oracle relinquishing the trademark would eliminate unnecessary legal concerns for companies working with JavaScript. “It would allow the official specification for JavaScript to actually say JavaScript, and companies like Deno could state ‘Deno is a JavaScript runtime’ without fear of legal repercussions,” Dahl explained on September 19. Additionally, freeing the trademark would pave the way for events like an official “JavaScript Conference” without licensing constraints. The JavaScript community plans to escalate the issue by filing a petition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in October to cancel Oracle’s ownership of the trademark.
This is not the first time the JavaScript community has attempted to engage Oracle on this issue. A similar request made two years ago was ignored. Dahl remains committed to strengthening JavaScript as a foundational language for the web and believes it is crucial to establish a clear, unencumbered identity for the language. With JavaScript continuing to power much of the modern internet, its leaders argue that removing trademark restrictions would benefit the broader developer ecosystem and ensure a stable future for the language.