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Notepad++ Creator Calls Out 'Fake' Mac App Over Trademark Violation
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iPay
macrumors 6502
sw1tcher
macrumors 604
Notepad is a default Windows app, hence Notepad++
On a Mac, it's TextEdit, so the Mac version of Notepad++ should be called TextEdit++
iSee
macrumors 68040
The author is acting very fishy.
I wonder if this unofficial Mac version of npp turns into malware after an update?
My accounts aren't exactly brimming with $$$, but it's better than zero.
I wonder if this unofficial Mac version of npp turns into malware after an update?
My accounts aren't exactly brimming with $$$, but it's better than zero.
spyguy10709
macrumors 65816
That’s literally not what GPL licensing means… at all!
there’s tons of Firefox ports on this very forum that are in full compliance.
Go away.
spyguy10709
macrumors 65816
Notepad++ for Mac feels akin to branding we see as commonplace to “community ports” of projects like Jellyfin, Mupen64, and Dolphin.
The dolphin folks didn’t go after Dolphin4iOS, they validated their code upstream. THAT is how you embrace open source community.
Botts85
macrumors regular
As a person who oversees security of a fleet of Windows devices, I wish Notepad++ would spend a bit more time on security than worrying about this...
jimscard
macrumors 6502
He makes it clear that it's a port; that they're not affiliated etc. There's no risk of someone mistakenly believing that it's an official version from the original developer, who has never provided a macOS version.
I get defending trademarks -- but trademark infringement is usually based on whether someone looking for the official product from the original vendor is going to be confused into buying the unofficial one. But in this case, there's no official one, and hasn't been one for twenty years.
Would the mac developer have been better off picking their own name? Sure. They'd probably get more attention that way even - "FluffyPad - an unofficial port of Notepad++ to the Mac".
I just don't get all the vitriol on this. If anything, more people are going to be aware of it, and some are even going to go looking for a Windows version, too.
Dude, you just straight up don't understand how open source and open source licensing works.
You have a fundamental misunderstanding of how trademark law works.
You also cannot claim that no one is going to be confused by this port. The website for the port literally starts with the Notepad++ logo, name and this sentence: "Notepad++ for Mac is the free, native macOS build of the popular open-source code editor — the same Scintilla editing engine, the same syntax highlighting for 80+ languages, the same macro recording and plugin system, rewritten on top of native macOS Cocoa APIs so it feels at home on your Mac."
There's nothing about that that makes it clear that "Notepad++ for Mac" is an unofficial port created by someone unaffiliated with the original software.
The Mac guy should have done a trademark search, but really he can be forgiven based on what this product actually is. The confusion here is that the software is GPLv2 open source. Anyone can grab a copy and make a port to any system they want.
GitHub - notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus: Notepad++ official repository
Notepad++ official repository. Contribute to notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus development by creating an account on GitHub.github.com
The name Notepad++ however is trademarked by the main developer. If anyone has acted in bad faith here it is the guy who released open source, but trademarked the name so that no one else can use it.
As someone who has been using Linux and open source for 20 years, long before my Mac, I can honestly say you don’t really get open source do you?The Mac guy should have done a trademark search, but really he can be forgiven based on what this product actually is. The confusion here is that the software is GPLv2 open source. Anyone can grab a copy and make a port to any system they want.
GitHub - notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus: Notepad++ official repository
Notepad++ official repository. Contribute to notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus development by creating an account on GitHub.
The name Notepad++ however is trademarked by the main developer. If anyone has acted in bad faith here it is the guy who released open source, but trademarked the name so that no one else can use it.
The cretin who copied open source code and then passed it off as an official version for MacOS is a liar. He could have just done what both the makers of AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux have done with Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
They took official RHEL code and stripped it of all Red Hat branding and trademarked items. It’s still RHEL all the way to being certified “Bug for Bug” compatible. Meaning they don’t even fix bugs in the original RHEL code so that sysadmins and other users are guaranteed consistent behavior as if they were actually using RHEL. And then they rename their code base and
market it honestly for what it is starting with that re-naming convention. No deception on anyone’s part. And Red Hat is ok with it. They have to be. It’s Linux. You can’t sell open source code. You can only sell support services.
That’s the exact opposite of the actions of the fraudulent maker of “Noteoad ++” for MacOS.
thats the dumbest thing i've read of this forum.
each and every big open source project has its name trademarked. this is exactly to prevent name abuse like one we have here.
no, you cant just throw existing project into Claude, tell it to rewrite in different programing language and framework, and just claim original name so you dont have to do marketing from zero.
There are people who want to make money by creating an open-source project, giving it a name, and using that name for the project, website, source-code repository, application name, product names, company names, and search identity. Then get a whole community of people to pitch in free labor, but be the only ones allowed to use the widely known name due to trademark laws. This is a recurring pattern and perversion of the notion of "open" in open source. It doesn't appear that money or commercial value is the issue with the trademark holder of Notepad++, but they are certainly at the heart of many high profile open-source or formerly open-source projects such as: Android, Docker, Redis, Elasticsearch, MongoDB, Couchbase, MySQL, OpenOffice, etc. In each of those instances, the code can be forked. The name cannot follow. Users follow the name until trust is built under a different identity.
The README says "This is the actual Notepad++ codebase ported to run natively on macOS. It is not an alternative, a knockoff, a Wine wrapper, or a new editor that imitates Notepad++. It's Notepad++." So, what is all your Claude-base knockoff nonsense about? It is "Completely free and open source under the GPL-3.0 license. No ads, no subscriptions, no in-app purchases, no telemetry." So, your marketing talk is also kind of oddly placed.
KENESS
macrumors 6502
You've missed the mark. But you're probably just unfamiliar with how open source works. What the original developer did is EXACTLY what you are SUPPOSED to do.
But to then go and victim-blaming the original developer is really a step too far. Kind of gross, really. The dude had the generosity to open source his work. But OBVIOUSLY you can't use his projects name if you then use that open source in YOUR project.
All you really have to do is thank and credit the original developer. They're asking so little, really, for the kindness of open sourcing their work. But you can't steal his name to ride the pig tails of his brand awareness just for yourself.
ApplyPie
macrumors newbie
It is not offered on the Appstore. You are confusing that with "Notepad++++", which is much different.