Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Genericized Trademark shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Genericized Trademark offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Genericized Trademark at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Genericized Trademark? Wrong! If the Genericized Trademark is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Genericized Trademark then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Genericized Trademark? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Genericized Trademark and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Genericized Trademark wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Genericized Trademark then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Genericized Trademark site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Genericized Trademark, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Genericized Trademark, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
A
genericized trademark,
generic trade mark,
generic descriptor, or
proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquialism or generic description for or synonymous with a particular class of Good (economics and accounting) or
service. Classic examples include
Scotch Tape,
Frisbee, JumboTron, Sellotape (U.K) Jell-O (U.S., Can.),
Xerox (photocopying-U.S., Can.), Band-Aid (adhesive bandages-U.S., Aus., Can.),
The Hoover Company (vacuum cleaner-U.K.),
Kleenex (facial tissues-U.S., Can.), Q-tips (cotton swabs-U.S., Can., U.K.(not as common)), Popsicle (ice pops-U.S., Can.) and the Rolodex (for other examples see List of generic and genericized trademarks and
List of non-English generic and genericized trademarks).
A trademark typically becomes "genericized" when the products or services with which it is associated have acquired substantial
market dominance strategies or
mind share. However, a trademark may still become genericized in the absence of significant market share through mechanisms such as
viral marketing.
Legal concepts
Whether or not a mark is popularly identified as genericized, the owner of the mark may still be able to enforce the
proprietary rights which attach to the use or registration of the mark, so long as the mark continues to exclusively identify the owner as the commercial origin of the applicable products or services. If the mark does not perform this essential function and it is no longer possible to legally enforce rights in relation to the mark, the mark may have become generic. In many legal systems (e.g. in the
USA but not in
Germany) a generic mark forms part of the public domain and can be commercially exploited by anyone. Nevertheless, there exists the possibility of a trade mark to become a revocable generic term in German (and European) trademark law.
The process by which trademark rights are diminished or lost as a result of common use in the marketplace is sometimes known as
genericide. This process typically occurs over a period of time where a mark is not used as a trademark (i.e. where it is not used to exclusively identify the products or services of a particular business); where a mark falls into disuse entirely; or where the trademark owner does not enforce its rights through
lawsuit for
passing off (legal term) or trademark infringement.
For example, one risk factor which may lead to genericide is the use of a trademark as a verb,
noun,
plural or possessive, unless the mark itself is possessive or plural (e.g. "Friendly's" restaurants).
Avoiding genericide
Trademark owners will naturally seek to maximize the popularity of their marks, and may believe that a certain level of genericity demonstrates how well-known and successful a mark has become. However, generic use of a trademark presents an inherent risk to the effective enforcement of trademark rights and may ultimately lead to genericide.
Trademark owners may take various steps to reduce the risk of genericide, including educating businesses and consumers on appropriate trademark use, avoiding use of their marks in a generic manner, and systematically and effectively enforcing their trademark rights. If a trademark is associated with a new
invention, the trademark owner may also consider developing a generic term for the product to be used in descriptive contexts, in order to avoid inappropriate use of the "house" mark.
Where a trademark is used generically, a trademark owner may need to take special proactive measures in order to retain exclusive rights to the trademark. Xerox provides one successful example of a company which was able to prevent the genericide of its core trademark through an extensive public relations campaign advising consumers to "
photocopy" instead of "Xeroxing" documents (the brand did become generic in
Russian language, Bulgarian language, Portuguese language and Romanian language, though. See list of generic and genericized trademarks). Another common practice amongst trademark owners is to follow their trademark with the word "brand" to help define the word as a trademark. Johnson & Johnson changed the lyrics of their
Band-Aid television commercial jingle from, "
I am stuck on Band-Aids, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me" to "
I am stuck on Band-Aid 'brand
, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me." Google has gone to lengths to prevent this process, discouraging publications from using the term 'googling' in reference to web-searches. This led New Scientist Feedback section to coin the neologism FWSEing - in reference to the Famous Web Search Engine. In 2006, "Google (verb)" has been defined in the Merriam Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary as a verb meaning "to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet."Harris, Scott D. " Dictionary adds verb: to google." San Jose Mercury News. July 7, 2006. Retrieved on July 7, 2006.Bylund, Anders. " To Google or Not to Google." The Motley Fool via MSNBC. July 5, 2006. Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
Terminology
The terms "genericide" and "genericized trademark" are not
technical terminology; legally, "genericide" is a
malapropism. Alternative terms have been suggested by various commentators, such as the judge in
Plasticolor Molded Products v. Ford Motor Company, who suggested "genericization" or "trademarkicide" , a member of Cecil Adams's contributing board who suggested "brand eponym" in The Straight Dope Mailbag , and others who have suggested "proprietary eponym". These latter terms and the term "genericized trademark" have not yet been used in legal literature whereas "genericide" has.
Opposite effect in other legislation
The section above describes the situation in countries such as the United States, where a generication causes a trademark to lose its protection, a consequence the trademark owner might wish to avoid. In other countries (several European ones, e.g.), a trademark stays protected even after generication. In this case, the outcome is very positive for the owner: The customer might not even know the proper non-trademarked term for the product, or consider this term as very artificial sounding and/or inconvenient, and hence associates only the trademark owner's product with the whole range of products, possibly even being ignorant about alternatives. The classic example is Bayer's trademark for the drug
Aspirin. A customer at a pharmacy is obviously more likely to ask for "Aspirin" than for "acetylsalicylic acid tablets", which is the name all manufactors of generic versions of the drug are forced to use in order not to infringe the trademark. Hence, having one's trademark become generic is, quite contrary to the case discussed above, often considered the ultimative marketing success.
Protected designation of origin
Since 2003 the
European Union has actively sought to restrict the use of
geographical indications by third parties outside the EU by enforcing laws regarding what is known as "Protected designation of origin". Although a geographical indication for specialty food or drink may be generic, a geographical indication is not a trademark because it does not serve to exclusively identify a specific commercial enterprise, and therefore cannot constitute a genericized trademark.
The extension of protection for geographical indications is somewhat controversial because a geographical indication may have been registered as a trademark elsewhere. For example, if
Parma Ham were part of a trademark registered in Canada by a Canadian manufacturer, ham manufacturers actually located in
Parma,
Italy might be unable to use this name in Canada.
Other affected products include
Champagne (wine),
Port wine,
Bordeaux wine and many other wine names,
Roquefort cheese,
Parmesan and
Feta cheese cheese, and
Scotch whisky whisky. In the
1990s the Parma consortium successfully sued the ASDA
supermarket chain to prevent it using the description
Parma ham on
prosciutto produced in Parma but sliced outside the region.
See also
External links
- American Proprietary Eponyms, a project by R. Krause, December 1997
- Article on generic brands
- Visiobrand brand directory
References
A
genericized trademark,
generic trade mark,
generic descriptor, or
proprietary eponym, is a
trademark or
brand name that has become the colloquialism or generic description for or synonymous with a particular class of
Good (economics and accounting) or
service. Classic examples include
Scotch Tape, Frisbee, JumboTron,
Sellotape (U.K) Jell-O (U.S., Can.),
Xerox (photocopying-U.S., Can.), Band-Aid (adhesive bandages-U.S., Aus., Can.), The Hoover Company (vacuum cleaner-U.K.),
Kleenex (facial tissues-U.S., Can.), Q-tips (
cotton swabs-U.S., Can., U.K.(not as common)), Popsicle (ice pops-U.S., Can.) and the Rolodex (for other examples see List of generic and genericized trademarks and
List of non-English generic and genericized trademarks).
A
trademark typically becomes "genericized" when the products or services with which it is associated have acquired substantial market dominance strategies or
mind share. However, a trademark may still become genericized in the absence of significant
market share through mechanisms such as
viral marketing.
Legal concepts
Whether or not a mark is popularly identified as genericized, the owner of the mark may still be able to enforce the proprietary rights which attach to the use or registration of the mark, so long as the mark continues to exclusively identify the owner as the commercial origin of the applicable products or services. If the mark does not perform this essential function and it is no longer possible to legally enforce rights in relation to the mark, the mark may have become generic. In many legal systems (e.g. in the USA but not in
Germany) a generic mark forms part of the
public domain and can be commercially exploited by anyone. Nevertheless, there exists the possibility of a trade mark to become a revocable generic term in German (and European) trademark law.
The process by which trademark rights are diminished or lost as a result of common use in the marketplace is sometimes known as
genericide. This process typically occurs over a period of time where a mark is not used as a trademark (i.e. where it is not used to exclusively identify the products or services of a particular business); where a mark falls into disuse entirely; or where the trademark owner does not enforce its rights through
lawsuit for
passing off (legal term) or
trademark infringement.
For example, one risk factor which may lead to genericide is the use of a trademark as a
verb,
noun, plural or
possessive, unless the mark itself is possessive or plural (e.g. "Friendly's" restaurants).
Avoiding genericide
Trademark owners will naturally seek to maximize the popularity of their marks, and may believe that a certain level of genericity demonstrates how well-known and successful a mark has become. However, generic use of a trademark presents an inherent risk to the effective enforcement of trademark rights and may ultimately lead to genericide.
Trademark owners may take various steps to reduce the risk of genericide, including educating businesses and consumers on appropriate trademark use, avoiding use of their marks in a generic manner, and systematically and effectively enforcing their trademark rights. If a trademark is associated with a new
invention, the trademark owner may also consider developing a generic term for the product to be used in descriptive contexts, in order to avoid inappropriate use of the "house" mark.
Where a trademark is used generically, a trademark owner may need to take special proactive measures in order to retain
exclusive rights to the trademark.
Xerox provides one successful example of a company which was able to prevent the genericide of its core trademark through an extensive public relations campaign advising consumers to "photocopy" instead of "Xeroxing" documents (the brand did become generic in
Russian language,
Bulgarian language, Portuguese language and
Romanian language, though. See
list of generic and genericized trademarks). Another common practice amongst trademark owners is to follow their trademark with the word "brand" to help define the word as a trademark.
Johnson & Johnson changed the lyrics of their Band-Aid television commercial jingle from, "
I am stuck on Band-Aids, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me" to "
I am stuck on Band-Aid 'brand
, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me." Google has gone to lengths to prevent this process, discouraging publications from using the term 'googling' in reference to web-searches. This led New Scientist Feedback section to coin the neologism FWSEing - in reference to the Famous Web Search Engine. In 2006, "Google (verb)" has been defined in the Merriam Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary as a verb meaning "to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet."Harris, Scott D. " Dictionary adds verb: to google." San Jose Mercury News. July 7, 2006. Retrieved on July 7, 2006.Bylund, Anders. " To Google or Not to Google." The Motley Fool via MSNBC. July 5, 2006. Retrieved on July 7, 2006.
Terminology
The terms "genericide" and "genericized trademark" are not
technical terminology; legally, "genericide" is a
malapropism. Alternative terms have been suggested by various commentators, such as the judge in
Plasticolor Molded Products v. Ford Motor Company, who suggested "genericization" or "trademarkicide" , a member of Cecil Adams's contributing board who suggested "brand eponym" in The Straight Dope Mailbag , and others who have suggested "proprietary eponym". These latter terms and the term "genericized trademark" have not yet been used in legal literature whereas "genericide" has.
Opposite effect in other legislation
The section above describes the situation in countries such as the United States, where a generication causes a trademark to lose its protection, a consequence the trademark owner might wish to avoid. In other countries (several European ones, e.g.), a trademark stays protected even after generication. In this case, the outcome is very positive for the owner: The customer might not even know the proper non-trademarked term for the product, or consider this term as very artificial sounding and/or inconvenient, and hence associates only the trademark owner's product with the whole range of products, possibly even being ignorant about alternatives. The classic example is Bayer's trademark for the drug
Aspirin. A customer at a pharmacy is obviously more likely to ask for "Aspirin" than for "acetylsalicylic acid tablets", which is the name all manufactors of generic versions of the drug are forced to use in order not to infringe the trademark. Hence, having one's trademark become generic is, quite contrary to the case discussed above, often considered the ultimative marketing success.
Protected designation of origin
Since 2003 the
European Union has actively sought to restrict the use of
geographical indications by third parties outside the EU by enforcing laws regarding what is known as "Protected designation of origin". Although a geographical indication for specialty food or drink may be generic, a geographical indication is not a trademark because it does not serve to exclusively identify a specific commercial enterprise, and therefore cannot constitute a genericized trademark.
The extension of protection for geographical indications is somewhat controversial because a geographical indication may have been registered as a trademark elsewhere. For example, if
Parma Ham were part of a trademark registered in
Canada by a Canadian manufacturer, ham manufacturers actually located in Parma, Italy might be unable to use this name in Canada.
Other affected products include
Champagne (wine),
Port wine,
Bordeaux wine and many other wine names,
Roquefort cheese,
Parmesan and
Feta cheese cheese, and
Scotch whisky whisky. In the
1990s the Parma consortium successfully sued the
ASDA supermarket chain to prevent it using the description
Parma ham on
prosciutto produced in Parma but sliced outside the region.
See also
External links
- American Proprietary Eponyms, a project by R. Krause, December 1997
- Article on generic brands
- Visiobrand brand directory
References
Genericized trademark - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A genericized trademark (also known as a generic trade mark or proprietary eponym) is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquial or generic description for (or ...
Talk:Genericized trademark - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Much of the discussion on this page was regarding the list of generic and genericized trademarks. That list now has its own page, and the related discussion has been moved to its ...
Reference.com/Encyclopedia/Genericized trademark
Reference.com free online encyclopedia article for Genericized trademark, powered by Wikipedia ... Genericized trademark Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source
Genericized Trademark
Marketing Guide: Genericized trademark defined and explained ... Genericized trademarks are former brand names once legally protected as trademarks, which have since come to ...
genericized trademark - Wiktionary
genericized trademark (plural genericized trademarks) A brand name or trademark of a successful product, that has come into general use to refer to the generic class of objects ...
Genericized Trademark
Genericized Trademark. Genericized Trademark is also known as a generic trade mark, generic descriptor or proprietary eponym. Genericized Trademark is a trademark or brand name ...
What is a Genericized Trademark?
Brief and Straightforward Guide: What is a Genericized Trademark? ... A genericized trademark is a trademark which has come to be used to describe all similar products, rather than ...
Genericized trademark at AllExperts
A genericized trademark or trade mark sometimes known as a generic trade mark generic descriptor or proprietary eponym is a trademark or brand name which is often used as the ...
INEX: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Genericized trademark)
Table of Contents. 1 Legal concepts. 1.1. Terminology; 1.2. Avoiding genericide; 2 European union; 3 List of genericized trademarks; 4 Trademarks at risk of becoming generic
Reference for Genericized trademark - Search.com
Genericized trademark ... Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Are you an expert in this subject?
