Ask HN: Redis Takeover

There have been several discussions here about redis going proprietary. "Redis," as I've used it, is an acronym for "REmode DIctionary Server." I have used redis generically on-and-off more-or-less from its release.

Redis Labs appears to be trying to take what was a generic term, and a piece of software in the open commons, and steal it for profit and a very slow motion takeover. History:

2009: Redis was developed. It was free, open-source, and good.

2012: I began using it for my open projects. Most of what I do and my colleagues to is in spaces where there are clear reasons to keep everything open (think civics, education, voting, etc.), and whatever you may think of them elsewhere, compatibility with strong sharealike licenses like AGPL is critical.

2018: Redis Labs started a take-over of what was a popular, decade-old open project. After nine years of generic use, a trademark application was filed:

https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=87805452&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch

I didn't even know this happened. I continued to use the term 'redis' generically. I learned about this actually just now.

I'm not sure how one can trademark a generic term, but I've seen this happen before. After five years, trademarks become incontestable, which makes them a lot harder to challenge.

2018: Redis Labs moved some optional modules to no longer be free and open-source software, but made them proprietary. These were non-critical to what I do, so I didn't pay much attention.

2021: Redis Labs renamed itself Redis, claiming more ownership of what had been previously a community project.

2024: The core of redis became proprietary, making it useless for the projects I'm working on and maintaining. The renamed Redis Labs also just filed for another trademark:

https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=98422051&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch

This is more muddy than the Linux kernel trademark situation years back (which had been registered by a troll), but it feels wrong. It feels like if this is allowed to continue, it presents a danger to the broader open ecosystem. Which project will be next?

I understand this happened over a decade, which means there was never a clear line cross, but at this point, some line has clearly been crossed to where it feels like what happened ought to be considered some kind of fraud. redis is popular due to support from people like me.

I just wanted to kick off a discussion about what happened here, and see if there could be a brainstorm about what should be done in a scenario like this, and how to prevent it from happening again. This seems like a real threat to the community.

FWIW: The original developer / maintainer of Redis worked for Redis Labs from 2015 for what feels like about five years. I'm not sure what, if any, relevant contracts were signed between the two at the time.