Help us raise $200k to free JavaScript from Oracle • Hacker News Board

Re: Help us raise $200k to free JavaScript from Oracle

#231

Post by morpheuskafka » Fri, Sep 19, 2025, 5:50 PM UTC

Oracle has this trademark in numerous countries. Even if this USPTO proceeding cancels it in the US, someone will need to cancel it in every other country to be safe for using it for a global software project/company. Because they filed directly in each country, rather than using the Madrid/WIPO process, a US cancellation doesn't affect the others at all.

(Likewise, even if Oracle wins this, they could still have to spend to defend it in other countries or risk losing it there if challenged.)

Re: Help us raise $200k to free JavaScript from Oracle

#232

Post by NetMageSCW » Fri, Sep 19, 2025, 5:51 PM UTC

3oil3 wrote: post #69

siva7 wrote: post #13

I can't be the only one who believes the name JavaScript should die in Peace. It was and still is the worst naming of any popular programming language in existence.

You'r not the only one: Javascript makes me think of ads; Oracle of Symphony, some restaurant stuff I worked with; hard to describe the experience. Not very safe, designed so normal people are ultra dependent on paid-for support. etc But I'm not here to rant :) I do find that request outrageous, the true objective hidden, and I still don't grasp what the fuss is about anyway; in what way does it matter does Oracle ow…

I’m sure JS will Google well.

Re: Help us raise $200k to free JavaScript from Oracle

#233

Post by paxys » Fri, Sep 19, 2025, 5:52 PM UTC

It doesn't matter how much money you raise. Oracle and Larry Ellison can outspend you 100000x, plus they have the ear of the USPTO and the rest of the US political establishment. This is a pointless fight.

Re: Help us raise $200k to free JavaScript from Oracle

#234

Post by NetMageSCW » Fri, Sep 19, 2025, 5:54 PM UTC

severino wrote: post #115

bambax wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have always wondered why Google didn't buy Sun? They propbably were at the time (and probably still are?) the biggest corporate users of both Java and JavaScript (which, of course, don't share anything beyond the name).

Thank God they didn't. Java could be another abandoned Google project now. OTOH I don't think anybody can say anything bad about what Oracle did and is doing with Java.

Really? Try changing licensing terms every few years until their current commercial license requires paying for every employee whether they use Java or not.

The world would be a much better place if Google had googled Java twenty years ago.

Re: Help us raise $200k to free JavaScript from Oracle

#235

Post by paxys » Fri, Sep 19, 2025, 5:54 PM UTC

zenmac wrote: post #228

thw_9a83c wrote: post #181

The name "JavaScript" was silly to begin with, just a way to make the buzzword "Java" more popular. Let's call it WebScript and move on.

We can also call it ECMAScript. I always try to refer to it as ES instead of JS in professional coding context.

If there's a name even stupider than JavaScript it's ECMAScript.

Re: Help us raise $200k to free JavaScript from Oracle

#236

Post by thw_9a83c » Fri, Sep 19, 2025, 5:55 PM UTC

zenmac wrote: post #228

thw_9a83c wrote: post #181

The name "JavaScript" was silly to begin with, just a way to make the buzzword "Java" more popular. Let's call it WebScript and move on.

We can also call it ECMAScript. I always try to refer to it as ES instead of JS in professional coding context.

Apparently people don't like the name "ECMA" because it's too close to "Eczema" which is a nasty dry/itchy skin problem. And I agree, because I have it too.

Re: Help us raise $200k to free JavaScript from Oracle

#237

Post by NetMageSCW » Fri, Sep 19, 2025, 5:57 PM UTC

whatamidoingyo wrote: post #117

op7 wrote: post #26

Sorry but I'm not going to sponsor you stealing a company's trademark.

The company that took a screenshot of the nodejs website and used it as evidence for their claim of the trademark? The company that had absolutely nothing to do with nodejs? Ohh.

I didn’t know nodejs existed in 1995?

Re: Help us raise $200k to free JavaScript from Oracle

#238

Post by einpoklum » Fri, Sep 19, 2025, 6:01 PM UTC

> Help Us Raise $200k to Free JavaScript from Oracle

Sure, just first please become a community-governed non-profit organization whose motivations and interests I am able to scrutinize - and I'll pitch in.

Re: Help us raise $200k to free JavaScript from Oracle

#239

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Sep 19, 2025, 6:03 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Help us raise $200k to free JavaScript from Oracle

#240

Post by ImPostingOnHN » Fri, Sep 19, 2025, 6:04 PM UTC

lenkite wrote: post #217

ImPostingOnHN wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the $200k were going towards such a geek, or towards maintaining code that everyone uses, that'd be better. As it stands, the money is going to lawyers, who will argue over the right to utter the word "javascript" in a commercial context (rather than, say, "JS"). So zero coding or maintenance.

Programming Geeks cannot argue in court. Only lawyers can. So the money is going to the right place ?

You're assuming that arguing in court over being allowed to use 1 specific word in a commercial context is a good thing to spend $200,000 on at all, which is quite an assumption, regardless of who does the arguing.

I agree with you that it'd be better if Deno took your suggestion, and spent the money on a Programming Geek, rather than being distracted from their core mission for trivial, semantic matters. The latter is how we actually end up with critical infra like OpenSSL being maintained ad hoc by some devoted geek for a pittance, who inevitably can't keep up with critical patches.

I mean, I'll be the first to admit that I've argued about a word on the internet before, but at no point did it ever cross my mind that I should spend $200,000 doing so.