A nascent tech rivalry between competitors may be unfolding, with Figma issuing a cease-and-desist letter to the prominent no-code AI startup, Lovable, as confirmed by Figma to TechCrunch.

The letter tells Lovable to stop calling a new product feature "Dev Mode." According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, Figma, which also has a feature called Dev Mode, successfully trademarked that term last year.

Remarkably, "dev mode" is a prevalent designation across numerous products designed for software developers, serving functionally as an editing interface. Prominent software offerings from major corporations, such as Apple's iOS, Google's Chrome, and Microsoft's Xbox, incorporate features officially labelled "developer mode," which are subsequently referred to colloquially as "dev mode" within technical documentation and discussions.

The name "dev mode" is very common. For example, Atlassian used it in their products long before Figma's copyright. It's also a common name for features in many open-source software projects.

Figma has informed TechCrunch that its trademark specifically covers the abbreviated form "Dev Mode," not the complete phrase "developer mode." However, this situation bears a resemblance to trademarking the word "bug" in relation to the process of "debugging."

Because Figma wants to own the term, it has to send cease-and-desist letters. If Figma doesn't protect the term, it could become a common word, and the trademark would no longer be valid.

Certain individuals online contend this term is inherently generic, asserting it ought never to have been eligible for trademark protection, and advocate for Lovable to mount a legal challenge.

Anton Osika, co-founder and CEO of Lovable, informs TechCrunch that his company currently has no intention of complying with Figma's demand to alter the feature's name.

It remains to be seen if Figma will pursue this further, particularly as it is currently focused on other matters, such as its announcement on Tuesday of having confidentially filed for an IPO. However, initiating an international legal dispute could prove costly for the nascent Swedish startup, Lovable, considering its $15 million seed funding round in February.

Lovable is emerging as a prominent figure in the realm of "vibe coding," a paradigm where users articulate their desires through textual prompts, and the platform subsequently generates the corresponding output, including the requisite code.

Its "dev mode" functionality was introduced recently, empowering users to modify that code.

Lovable presents itself as a viable alternative to Figma, asserting on its homepage that designers can utilise Lovable "without the cumbersome prototyping processes associated with tools such as Figma," a strategy many nascent startups are currently adopting.

This is more than just a fight over a trademark. It also shows a big competitor getting ready to challenge a smaller, new company. Around a year ago, Figma was worth about $12.5 billion.

A Figma spokesperson implicitly acknowledges this, stating to TechCrunch that they have not issued cease-and-desist letters to other tech companies, such as Microsoft, regarding the term, as their products fall into a distinct category of goods and services.

Osika from Lovable is ready to fight back, telling TechCrunch that he thinks "Figma should focus on making their product great" and not on marketing their brand. He also says that Lovable is successfully taking customers from Figma and other design tools made before LLMs.

When asked about the danger of vibe coding products, Figma co-founder and CEO Dylan Field naturally dismissed the idea in a conversation last month with Garry Tan from Y Combinator.

Field noted that while users appreciate vibe coding for its efficiency, there is also a desire to provide a method that not only facilitates rapid prototyping but also enables completion. This represents a gap, and it is prevalent not solely in design but also within the domain of coding.

Nonetheless, Osika also appears prepared to contend, having accompanied the publication of Figma's letter on X with a grinning emoji.