Notepad++ creator threatens legal action over macOS port of open-source app — developer says port is fine, but branding is too far

Notepad++ creator Don Ho has filed a trademark complaint with Cloudflare and is threatening further legal action against the developer of a macOS port that used the editor's name, logo, and even Ho's own biography to present itself as an official release. Ho published a blog post on May 1st calling the project a "fake" and asking users to help correct the record online.

The macOS port, built by New York-based developer Andrey Letov using AI-assisted development workflows, launched its first public version in April and quickly attracted attention from tech outlets that covered it as if it were an official cross-platform expansion of the 22-year-old Windows text editor.

Several publications initially reported the port as a long-awaited native release before correcting their coverage after Ho's blog post. The project's website used the Notepad++ chameleon logo, a near-identical domain name, and an author page that listed Ho alongside Letov without Ho's knowledge or consent. A disclaimer noting the port was independent appeared on the site, but required scrolling past the marketing copy to find.

Article continues below

In a GitHub thread where the early dispute played out (and is still ongoing,) Ho argued that it’s “risky for the Notepad++ team to appear as endorsing any project which claims to be based on the Notepad++ code base,” with other contributors arguing that such actions could expose users to malware and that any security problems in the port would damage the reputation of the original project.

That potential damage to reputation is doubtless a genuine concern for Ho, too, when back in February, Notepad++ announced that its own update server had been hijacked in a targeted supply chain attack linked to the Chinese espionage group Lotus Blossom. That attack delivered trojanized installers to a subset of users through the editor's built-in updater for roughly seven months.

Ho has spent the months since tightening update verification, and an unauthorized fork trading on the same brand identity complicates that effort and makes it harder for users to distinguish legitimate software from imitations.

He has stressed that his issue isn’t with the macOS port — indeed, Ho has expressed how he’s happy to see a macOS port — but the unauthorized use of branding; Notepad++ is released under the GPL v3, which permits anyone to fork and modify the source. The project's name and logo, however, are trademarked, and Ho didn’t grant permission for either to be used. Letov responded to the initial complaint by expressing hope that Ho would endorse the port, but Ho refused, per reporting from The Register, saying he would not put his name on software he doesn’t manage.

Letov then added a banner to the macOS port's website claiming the rebranding would happen "in coordination with Don Ho." Ho told The Register that no such coordination exists and that he has asked Letov to take the site down immediately. Letov requested a couple of weeks to transition to the new branding and a new domain, but Ho rejected this timeline, citing the continued risk of trademark infringement.

As of the time of publication, the macOS port's website remains live under the same domain but with the name “Nextpad++ for Mac,” and its own frog sprite logo.

Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.