Oracle appears to be gearing up for a fight to retain its JavaScript trademark, despite the company not actually making JavaScript products.

Deno Land, the maker of a popular JavaScript runtime, has launched an effort to strip Oracle of its JavaScript trademark, which the company acquired when it purchased Sun Microsystems in 2009. Deno is making the case to the US Patent and Trademark Office that Oracle’s trademark is overly broad, too broad to be covered by a trademark.

In a post on Mastodon, Deno says Oracle has informed them that it has no intention of voluntarily giving up its trademark, essentially guaranteeing a legal battle.

FreeJavaScript update: Oracle has informed us they won’t voluntarily withdraw their trademark on “JavaScript”. Next: they’ll file their Answer and we’ll start discovery to show how “JavaScript” is widely recognized as a generic term and not controlled by Oracle.

Allegations of Fraud and Abandoned Trademark

Deno has laid out serious allegations, including that Oracle engaged in fraud to renew JavaScript trademark in 2019. In the documentation Deno provided, Oracle references and shows screen captures of Node.js and its website, even though Oracle does not own and is not involved with Node.js.

Oracle, through its attorney, submitted specimens showing screen captures of the Node.js website, a project created by Ryan Dahl, Petitioner’s Chief Executive Officer. 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.

Moreso, as of December 26, 2019, Oracle knew that it had no connection with Node.js and that its use of Node.js’s website to show “use in commerce” of the phrase “JavaScript” by Oracle was not valid.

Oracle’s knowingly fraudulent statements were material to the USPTO’s decision to renew the Registered Mark, reg. no. 2416017.

Deno also claims that if JavaScript is not a generic phrase—and therefore exempt from trademark—as Oracle maintains, then the company has abandoned the trademark by not creating or selling any JavaScript products.

JavaScript is one of the most ubiquitous technologies and programming languages, one that helps power much of the internet and, increasingly, desktop applications. While Oracle has not exercised its trademark, Deno is clearly concerned about the possibility of the company choosing to do so.