Calling the trademark ownership an “outdated legal relic,” Dahl said Oracle’s ownership “has caused confusion and unnecessary barriers, including cease-and-desist letters sent to organizations for simply using the term ‘JavaScript’ in their names.” The USPTO filing marks a pivotal step toward freeing the JavaScript name from legal entanglements, Dahl said.
If the name is freed, conferences could use the name JavaScript without concerns of legal overreach. The language’s development specification name, ECMAScript, could be replaced by the name JavaScript, said Dahl.
The petition to the USPTO also accuses Oracle of committing fraud in 2019 in its renewal efforts for the trademark by submitting screen captures of the Node.js website. “Node.js is not affiliated with Oracle, and the use of screen captures of the ‘nodejs.org’ website as a specimen did not show any use of the mark by Oracle or on behalf of Oracle,” the petition states. Additionally, the petition stresses that the term JavaScript is generic and that Oracle does not control, and has never controlled, any aspect of the specification or how the term JavaScript can be used by others. Oracle, which has until January 4, 2025 to respond to the USPTO petition, could not be reached for comment.