American software engineer Ryan Dahl, known for creating the Node.js and Deno platforms, has announced a $200,000 GoFundMe fundraiser. The funds are needed for a lawsuit against Oracle to make the JavaScript brand publicly available. What exactly will the money be spent on?
American software engineer Ryan Dahl, known for creating the Node.js and Deno platforms, has announced a $200,000 GoFundMe fundraiser. The funds are needed for a lawsuit against Oracle to make the JavaScript brand publicly available. What exactly will the money be spent on?
«After over 27,000 people signed our open letter to Oracle regarding the ‘JavaScript’ trademark, we filed a formal revocation petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. After ten months, we have finally reached the crucial phase of the investigation», — Ryan Dahl reported on his blog.
JavaScript (or JS) is one of the core technologies that power modern websites, along with HTML and CSS. However, «JavaScript» has also been the subject of legal controversy over the past few years. The trademark is owned by Oracle, but many consider it an unfair restriction on the developer community,
To return control of the term to the community, Node.js creator Ryan Dahl and JavaScript inventor Brendan H. wrote an open letter to Oracle asking them to abandon the trademark and return it to the community. However, they were unable to resolve the issue with the company and the case went to court.
Dahl said that Deno initiated the petition because it has legal status as a JavaScript runtime, but in reality it is doing so on behalf of all developers.
«If we win, JavaScript will become publicly available — all developers, conferences, book authors, and companies will be able to use it without fear of trademark threats», — assures the Node.js and Deno developer.
According to him, the $200,000 from GoFundMe is needed because federal lawsuits are expensive. Ryan Dahl explained that gathering evidence and arguments takes up the most resources, and Oracle’s fighters don’t want to skimp on that.
The money raised will go to:
So far, $15,698 has been raised on GoFundMe, donated by 319 users.
«If there are any funds left, we will donate them to OpenJS to continue protecting civil liberties in the digital space. No funds will be transferred to Deno,» Dahl promises.
He added that Oracle officially denies that «JavaScript» is a generic term and on August 6, 2025, the company first commented on the validity of the trademark. In response to the petition, Oracle denied that «JavaScript» is a generic term.
«If we don’t win the case, Oracle will secure ownership of the word ‘JavaScript.’ This is a crucial moment,» says the Node.js and Deno developer.
He previously explained that owning this trademark creates legal uncertainty, especially given that Oracle could potentially sue anyone for using the term for commercial purposes. Because of this, there are no branded conferences for JavaScript, because Oracle is not interested in it, and enthusiasts do not have permission to hold such an event.
