Notepad++ creator Don Ho has filed a trademark complaint with Cloudflare and is threatening further legal action against the developer of a macOS port that used the editor's name, logo, and even Ho's own biography to present itself as an official release. Ho published a blog post on May 1st calling the project a "fake" and asking users to help correct the record online.
The macOS port, built by New York-based developer Andrey Letov using AI-assisted development workflows, launched its first public version in April and quickly attracted attention from tech outlets that covered it as if it were an official cross-platform expansion of the 22-year-old Windows text editor.
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He has stressed that his issue isn’t with the macOS port — indeed, Ho has expressed how he’s happy to see a macOS port — but the unauthorized use of branding; Notepad++ is released under the GPL v3, which permits anyone to fork and modify the source. The project's name and logo, however, are trademarked, and Ho didn’t grant permission for either to be used. Letov responded to the initial complaint by expressing hope that Ho would endorse the port, but Ho refused, per reporting from The Register, saying he would not put his name on software he doesn’t manage.
As of the time of publication, the macOS port's website remains live under the same domain but with the name “Nextpad++ for Mac,” and its own frog sprite logo.
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