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Oracle owns “JavaScript”, so Apple is taking down my app

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Re: Oracle owns “JavaScript”, so Apple is taking down my app

#81

Post by vatueil »

voxadam wrote: post #66
piinbinary wrote: post #21

Should we actually start calling it "Yavascript"? ref: https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks/the-birth-and-death...

Another comment pointed out that Netscape originally planned to call it LiceScript but was encouraged by Sun to change it JavaScript so I say if we're going to change the name we go with the original one. Either that or argue that the original holder of the Java trademark essentially blessed the use of its mark and continue calling it JavaScript.

> LiceScript

Ahem, "LiveScript": https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/JavaScript#History

Re: Oracle owns “JavaScript”, so Apple is taking down my app

#83

Post by codetrotter »

binarynate wrote: post #2

I knew that Microsoft had to call their ECMAScript implementation JScript, but it never dawned on me that Oracle is the current owner of the "JavaScript" trademark: http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=2416017&caseSearchType=US_... Between this and Oracle's ongoing lawsuit against Google for their use of Java in Android, I have a pretty low opinion of Oracle.

Indeed. When they said:

> The unauthorized display of our client's intellectual property is likely to cause consumers encountering this app to mistakenly believe that it emanates from, or is provided under a license from, Oracle.

I think most of us would agree that no, literally almost no one familiar with JavaScript would have believed that app to “emanate from, or be provided under a license from, Oracle”.

I know that Oracle owns Java, but I never would have guessed that they had any ownership of the JavaScript name. When I think of JS, Oracle is like the last company I would think of.

When I think of JS, I think of Brendan Eich, Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox, web development, Node.js, etc.

Re: Oracle owns “JavaScript”, so Apple is taking down my app

#84

Post by jessaustin »

vertis wrote: post #62
bobbyi_settv wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most likely, that is exactly why they are pursuing actions like this one. They're worried that if they don't, they'll lose control over the name, not that this app itself is costing them anything.

They don't really have any control over the name though. Agressive action to control it would just further alienate a community and cause a push back that would be damaging to Oracle...oh if only there were a push back.

A bunch of web devs would get pissed off and... stop buying Oracle products? For that to work, wouldn't they have to be buying any Oracle product at all in the first place?

Re: Oracle owns “JavaScript”, so Apple is taking down my app

#85

Post by jessaustin »

Someone1234 wrote: post #67

It is unfortunate that "ECMAScript" is simply a terrible name. I understand why the term is used, but that doesn't make it inherently good, easy to say, or memorable. Fortunately the ES shorthand is more workable (e.g. ES6, ES2017, etc).

We should just shorten that to eichscript.

Re: Oracle owns “JavaScript”, so Apple is taking down my app

#87

Post by imacpro1 »

kbumsik wrote: post #52

What is the name of the app? It is unclear if the OP uses "JavaScript" in the title of the app, or just "JavaScript" appears in the description or the content of the app. I guess they are quite different cases.

App author here, the name is: "HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, HTML, Snippet Editor".

The app was written long time ago and I'm surprised to receive an email from Apple about it at all.

Here is the link so you can see how it's shown in the App Store, I don't think anyone would associate this app with Oracle!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/html5-css-javascript-html-sn...

Re: Oracle owns “JavaScript”, so Apple is taking down my app

#89

Post by TeMPOraL »

cobbzilla wrote: post #43
cryptonector wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A test case might be needed. If Oracle were to sue a deep-pocketed competitor over the trademark, then we might find a court reaching the conclusion that the trademark has been diluted and the name is now generic. But if Oracle does no such thing, and sues only shallow-pocketed "nobodies", then the legal status of the mark will remain unclear. My guess is Oracle would only do the latter, and that they're doing it bec…

I love your riff on Hanlon's Razor: "Never attribute to malice what you can attribute to a corporate lawyer." Shall we call it Cryptonector's Razor? You invented it, you name it :) edit: someone else (not me) should name the principle that explains why so few people on HN have any sense of humor whatsoever.

> edit: someone else (not me) should name the principle that explains why so few people on HN have any sense of humor whatsoever.

I think lots of people have sense of humor, but it's accepted here in very limited amount (and preferably when it's clever humor). I'd attribute this to HN being one of the few remaining places on the Internet where you can discuss serious/interesting stuff without immediately drowning in effort-free jokes and memes - and people want to keep it that way. Hence, the word I'd be looking for might be "oversensitivity".

Re: Oracle owns “JavaScript”, so Apple is taking down my app

#90

Post by pronoiac »

imacpro1 wrote: post #87
kbumsik wrote: post #52

What is the name of the app? It is unclear if the OP uses "JavaScript" in the title of the app, or just "JavaScript" appears in the description or the content of the app. I guess they are quite different cases.

App author here, the name is: "HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, HTML, Snippet Editor". The app was written long time ago and I'm surprised to receive an email from Apple about it at all. Here is the link so you can see how it's shown in the App Store, I don't think anyone would associate this app with Oracle! https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/html5-css-javascript-html-sn...

It's in the (unwieldy) name? Have you considered changing the name to, say, Snippet Editor?
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