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That’s how trademark works. You lose it if you have it and don’t protect it.

I think the point the parent comment is making is that companies shouldn't be able to trademark common phrases with their usual spelling. 'Dev mode' is a common short form for 'developer mode' which has extensive use.

I wrote a little about it, because it's more complicated than "a trademark": https://jonatron.github.io/randomstuff/trademark/fig.html

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