V
VK
I got really wondered with the recent fuss about "JavaScript is
terribly copyrighted, the language is called ECMAScript from now on,
and further".
First of all yes, JAVASCRIPT is a registered trademark in the US of
Sun Microsystems, Inc., now a wholly owned subsidiary of Oracle
Corporation. The Mark Drawing Code of the trademark is "Typed
drawing". That means that JavaScript, Javascript, javascript or even
JaVaScRiPt are equally registered trademarks appertaining to Sun
Microsystems, Inc. Other words any typed or drawn sequence of
characters "JAVASCRIPT" in any case or any case mixture.
United States Patent and Trademark Office search:
http://tess2.uspto.gov/
In the EU JAVASCRIPT is still available for registration by any
interested company: unlike JAVA which is trademarked by Oracle
America, Inc.(sic!) for any use in the domains of "computers, computer
hardware, computer peripherals, integrated circuits, computer
software".
OHIM search:
http://oami.europa.eu/CTMOnline/RequestManager/en_SearchBasic
ECMASCRIPT is not trademarked in the US nor in the EU. Yet "ECMA
International" is recently registered in the US, Mark Drawing Code
"Standard Character Mark, no claim is made to the exclusive right to
use 'International' apart from the mark as shown".
It is important that the registration is finished just in April of
2010. Respectively it doesn't have the affidavit SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-
YR)
What does it mean is that within the next 6 years any former "ECMA" or
"ECMA International" trademark user, irrespectively to the current
registration status, can claim his/her priority rights for the
trademark and to get it back or to get a royalty, just like it was
with Firefox a few years ago.
Note: Personally to me the optimum would be some porno studio to claim
these priority rights so to get the Swiss ECMA hell out of the
picture...
Now what are the implications of JAVASCRIPT being a trademark of Sun
Microsystems, Inc.? None. Sun didn't and doesn't develop JavaScript
standards or unified engines obligatory to use by everyone. It cannot
and it doesn't plan to start collecting royalties for each
"JAVASCRIPT" word usage. For that they would need to enforce royalties
to the whole Web, wherever "javascript" is written and/or sent.
The purpose of holding this trademark is the community interest. The
best it is described by PSF for "Python", so I simply quote, just
imagine JavaScript instead of Python:
http://www.python.org/psf/trademarks/
"Trademark law is mainly a way to protect the public, rather than the
trademark holder. This means that uses of trademarks that confuse
consumers -- which in our case would include our developer and user
community, or anyone else who might be likely to use the Python
programming language -- are not permitted under law. As the owner of
the trademark, we must be sure the mark is used properly, so the
community is not confused."
So the trademark is a guarantee that no one will make a derivative of C
++ or BASIC and will start to distribute it under JavaScript name. Or
someone will write a book like "C++ is the king, JavaScript sucks" or
the like. This is a Good Thing(tm).
So why so much of fuss all recently with JavaScript - after 15 years -
being treated nearly as an evil name and ECMAScript being pushed into
all available holes? Because the situation has been changed
dramatically. The "toy language" is the definite winner: and there is
an army of highly upset C++'ers (and a few survived Java'ers) looking
at that.
Their core believes and principals of Doing Right Things In The Only
Right Way are challenged - and instead of fixing it they have to write
optimized engines for that "toy language".
So the medieval Ius primae noctis goes into use: if you cannot
eliminate your enemies then try to absorb them so soon they will be
just a part of yours. If you cannot eliminate JavaScript - just make
it a weird yet acceptable C++ bastard. In this case an enforced name
change is the most effective identity breakout. -JavaScript doesn't
have and doesn't need this and that? -Well, who's talking about
JavaScript? It is ECMAScript, man, here it does.
All above and further is my my own personal opinion - lesser
trademarks status data. Anyone is welcome to agree on it, argue with
it or to ignore it.
From my side I do reserve my rights to:
1) to send to hell any attempts to enforce the "right" term ECMAScript
instead of "wrong" term JavaScript.
2) to send to hell any hoax about the "copyright danger" of using
JavaScript instead of "public domain" ECMAScript.
3) to send to hell and fight with any attempt of making from
JavaScript a C++ bastard. Mozilla or anyone else wants it - let them
do it. They can make ECMAScript or EICHScript or JS#Script in any form
that satisfy them. It is out of any wide community interest. The
community does care about JavaScript as the language of the Web.
4) to put periodical requests to change the language name in the FAQ
to the form corresponding to the group description and the charter. If
it is not done, then remove the word "official" from the FAQ
description. Do not expect it to be done, but periodical requests with
rationale in them at least will inform readers about my view at the
actual situation.
terribly copyrighted, the language is called ECMAScript from now on,
and further".
First of all yes, JAVASCRIPT is a registered trademark in the US of
Sun Microsystems, Inc., now a wholly owned subsidiary of Oracle
Corporation. The Mark Drawing Code of the trademark is "Typed
drawing". That means that JavaScript, Javascript, javascript or even
JaVaScRiPt are equally registered trademarks appertaining to Sun
Microsystems, Inc. Other words any typed or drawn sequence of
characters "JAVASCRIPT" in any case or any case mixture.
United States Patent and Trademark Office search:
http://tess2.uspto.gov/
In the EU JAVASCRIPT is still available for registration by any
interested company: unlike JAVA which is trademarked by Oracle
America, Inc.(sic!) for any use in the domains of "computers, computer
hardware, computer peripherals, integrated circuits, computer
software".
OHIM search:
http://oami.europa.eu/CTMOnline/RequestManager/en_SearchBasic
ECMASCRIPT is not trademarked in the US nor in the EU. Yet "ECMA
International" is recently registered in the US, Mark Drawing Code
"Standard Character Mark, no claim is made to the exclusive right to
use 'International' apart from the mark as shown".
It is important that the registration is finished just in April of
2010. Respectively it doesn't have the affidavit SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-
YR)
What does it mean is that within the next 6 years any former "ECMA" or
"ECMA International" trademark user, irrespectively to the current
registration status, can claim his/her priority rights for the
trademark and to get it back or to get a royalty, just like it was
with Firefox a few years ago.
Note: Personally to me the optimum would be some porno studio to claim
these priority rights so to get the Swiss ECMA hell out of the
picture...
Now what are the implications of JAVASCRIPT being a trademark of Sun
Microsystems, Inc.? None. Sun didn't and doesn't develop JavaScript
standards or unified engines obligatory to use by everyone. It cannot
and it doesn't plan to start collecting royalties for each
"JAVASCRIPT" word usage. For that they would need to enforce royalties
to the whole Web, wherever "javascript" is written and/or sent.
The purpose of holding this trademark is the community interest. The
best it is described by PSF for "Python", so I simply quote, just
imagine JavaScript instead of Python:
http://www.python.org/psf/trademarks/
"Trademark law is mainly a way to protect the public, rather than the
trademark holder. This means that uses of trademarks that confuse
consumers -- which in our case would include our developer and user
community, or anyone else who might be likely to use the Python
programming language -- are not permitted under law. As the owner of
the trademark, we must be sure the mark is used properly, so the
community is not confused."
So the trademark is a guarantee that no one will make a derivative of C
++ or BASIC and will start to distribute it under JavaScript name. Or
someone will write a book like "C++ is the king, JavaScript sucks" or
the like. This is a Good Thing(tm).
So why so much of fuss all recently with JavaScript - after 15 years -
being treated nearly as an evil name and ECMAScript being pushed into
all available holes? Because the situation has been changed
dramatically. The "toy language" is the definite winner: and there is
an army of highly upset C++'ers (and a few survived Java'ers) looking
at that.
Their core believes and principals of Doing Right Things In The Only
Right Way are challenged - and instead of fixing it they have to write
optimized engines for that "toy language".
So the medieval Ius primae noctis goes into use: if you cannot
eliminate your enemies then try to absorb them so soon they will be
just a part of yours. If you cannot eliminate JavaScript - just make
it a weird yet acceptable C++ bastard. In this case an enforced name
change is the most effective identity breakout. -JavaScript doesn't
have and doesn't need this and that? -Well, who's talking about
JavaScript? It is ECMAScript, man, here it does.
All above and further is my my own personal opinion - lesser
trademarks status data. Anyone is welcome to agree on it, argue with
it or to ignore it.
From my side I do reserve my rights to:
1) to send to hell any attempts to enforce the "right" term ECMAScript
instead of "wrong" term JavaScript.
2) to send to hell any hoax about the "copyright danger" of using
JavaScript instead of "public domain" ECMAScript.
3) to send to hell and fight with any attempt of making from
JavaScript a C++ bastard. Mozilla or anyone else wants it - let them
do it. They can make ECMAScript or EICHScript or JS#Script in any form
that satisfy them. It is out of any wide community interest. The
community does care about JavaScript as the language of the Web.
4) to put periodical requests to change the language name in the FAQ
to the form corresponding to the group description and the charter. If
it is not done, then remove the word "official" from the FAQ
description. Do not expect it to be done, but periodical requests with
rationale in them at least will inform readers about my view at the
actual situation.
