Recently, Figma issued a cease and desist letter to Lovable, demanding that the company stop using the term "Developer Mode." Figma claims that this term was successfully registered as its trademark last year. According to records from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Figma does indeed possess a feature called "Developer Mode" in its design tool, and the term has been granted trademark protection.
However, the controversy isn't straightforward. In fact, "Developer Mode" has long been a common standard term in numerous software products. Major companies like Apple (iOS), Google (Chrome), and Microsoft (Xbox) have all used this term to refer to an editing feature specifically designed for developers. Furthermore, many open-source software projects and early Atlassian products featured similarly named functionalities. Therefore, whether Figma can exclusively own the trademark for this term has become a point of contention within the industry.
