[jsprogrammer]

The problem is that KIK (the company) has no registered trademark for this use. If they had, they (or you) could point to the specific registration that the `kik` project infringed upon.

Any talk about trademarks is irrelevant (and npm even claims in this article that it had nothing to do with their decision).

Additionally, the `kik` package now has this description:

'This package name is not currently in use, but was formerly occupied by a popular package. To avoid malicious use, npm is hanging on to the package name, but loosely, and we\'ll probably give it to you if you want it.'

So...why did this happen again?

[dandelany]

Because Kik plans to `npm publish kik`, presumably a JS API or something. That is a stock robomessage, though granted, not a very good one under the circumstances.

[bsimpson]

The first rule of open source is check if the name has any other popular uses (using, at the very least, Google and the USPTO). Whether or not Kik would have sued for trademark infringement is secondary - before publishing, the author should have searched for the name, and when he saw an established product using it, chosen something else.

npm has never been secretive about its name collision policy.

[deciplex]

Wait, like to anyone who wants it? I wonder what would happen if Azer asked for it back, heh.