After more than 27,000 people signed our open letter to Oracle about the “JavaScript” trademark, we filed a formal Cancellation Petition with the US Patent and Trademark Office. Ten months in, we’re finally reaching the crucial discovery phase.

Deno initiated this petition since we have legal standing as a JavaScript runtime, but it’s really on behalf of all developers. If we win, “JavaScript” becomes public domain – free for all developers, conferences, book authors, and companies to use without fear of trademark threats.

We’re asking for your support through our GoFundMe campaign so we can put forward the strongest case possible.

Why $200k?

Because federal litigation is expensive. Discovery is the most resource-intensive stage of litigation, where evidence is collected and arguments are built.

We don’t want to cut corners – we want to make the best case possible by funding:

• Professional public surveys that carry legal weight in front of the USPTO, proving that “JavaScript” is universally recognized as the name of a language, not Oracle’s brand.
• Expert witnesses from academia and industry to testify on JavaScript’s history, usage, and meaning.
• Depositions and records from standards bodies, browser vendors, and industry leaders showing Oracle has no role in the language’s development.
• Legal filings and responses to counter Oracle’s claims at every step.

If there are leftover funds, we’ll donate them to the OpenJS to continue defending civil liberties in the digital space. None of the funds will go to Deno.

Oracle officially denies “JavaScript” is generic

On August 6th, 2025, Oracle for the first time addressed the validity of the trademark. Their response to our petition denies that “JavaScript” is a generic term.

If you’re a web developer, it’s self-evident that Oracle has nothing to do with JavaScript. The trademark system was never meant to let companies squat on commonly-used names and rent-seek – it was designed to protect active brands in commerce. US law makes this distinction explicit.

We urge you to read our petition and open letter to understand our arguments.

If we don’t win discovery, Oracle locks in ownership of the word “JavaScript.” This is the decisive moment.

But this case is bigger than JavaScript. It’s about whether trademark law works as written, or whether billion-dollar corporations can ignore the rule that trademarks cannot be generic or abandoned. “JavaScript” is obviously both. If Oracle wins anyway, it undermines the integrity of the whole system.

Let’s make sure the law holds. Please donate. Please share and upvote this.