A fresh tech turf war is brewing as Figma Dev Mode cease-and-desist letters hit the inbox of rising AI-powered design startup Lovable, igniting debate across the industry over the ownership of a term many consider generic.
Figma confirmed it sent a cease-and-desist letter to Lovable demanding the startup stop using the term “Dev Mode” to label a new feature, citing its registered U.S. trademark. The Figma Dev Mode cease-and-desist warning puts the spotlight on an increasingly competitive relationship between the two companies, as Lovable positions itself as a next-generation alternative to Figma’s design ecosystem.
Interestingly, “Dev Mode” has long been used by developers as shorthand for “Developer Mode” — a feature found across countless platforms including Apple, Google, Microsoft, and in open-source communities. But Figma’s specific trademark on the phrase “Dev Mode” gives the company legal grounds to challenge competing products using the exact term, even as many online argue the trademark should never have been granted.
Lovable CEO Anton Osika has made it clear his team isn’t backing down, telling TechCrunch that the company has no current plans to change the feature’s name, despite the Figma Dev Mode cease-and-desist. On social media, Osika even shared a screenshot of the letter, adding a grinning emoji to signal the company’s readiness to stand its ground.
The timing of the dispute raises eyebrows, as Lovable has been steadily gaining traction in the design world with its “vibe coding” approach — allowing users to create software through simple text prompts, bypassing traditional design tools like Figma. The startup’s new Dev Mode feature lets users directly edit the code generated by the platform, further blurring the line between design and development workflows.
The tension goes beyond mere trademark protection. Lovable openly markets itself as a rival to Figma, even calling out the company on its homepage for requiring “tedious prototyping work.” As competition in the AI-assisted design space heats up, the Figma Dev Mode cease-and-desist looks more like a strategic move to challenge a fast-growing competitor than a routine legal measure.
When asked why Figma hasn’t pursued action against bigger companies using the same term, a Figma spokesperson clarified that the Figma Dev Mode cease-and-desist only applies to companies operating in “similar categories of goods and services.”
The dispute also comes amid major business developments for both firms. Lovable recently closed a $15 million seed round, while Figma quietly filed paperwork for an IPO, hinting at a future stock market debut.
Whether this legal scuffle escalates or fizzles out, one thing is clear: the Figma Dev Mode cease-and-desist marks the start of what could become a heated battle between legacy design platforms and new AI-native challengers like Lovable.
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