Table of Contents
- 1 What is it called when a brand name becomes a generic name?
- 2 What happens when a trademark becomes generic?
- 3 What is the generic term?
- 4 Why are generic or descriptive names or words not given trademarks?
- 5 Can you use a generic name for a brand name?
- 6 Which is the best way to remind someone that Kleenex is a product?
What is it called when a brand name becomes a generic name?
When you use a brand name as a generic term, you’re using a proprietary eponym, or, more simply, a generic trademark. You’re probably familiar with this phenomenon, but there are more examples of it than you might realize.
What happens when a trademark becomes generic?
Understanding Genericide: How Trademarks Become Generic This happens when a trademark that used to refer to a particular product is used to describe a whole group of products. The brand name loses value and distinctiveness, and advertising the product becomes harder. Genericide often leads to a loss of sales.
Can descriptive marks be trademarked?
In general, a descriptive mark is a word (or words) that merely describes a product or its ingredient, quality, characteristic, function, feature, purpose or use. An example of a merely descriptive mark would be COLD AND CREAMY for ice cream. Marks of this type are generally not granted trademark protection.
Is Kleenex an eponym?
Proprietary eponyms are another matter entirely. These are general words that are, or were at one time, proprietary brand names or service marks. Kleenex, for example, is a brand of facial tissues, yet the word is used today to refer to facial tissues of any brand.
What is the generic term?
Filters. The definition of a generic term is a word or phrase that is used to describe some general or vague group or class, rather than some specific thing.
Why are generic or descriptive names or words not given trademarks?
Generic “marks” are devices which actually name a product and are incapable of functioning as a trademark. Unlike descriptive marks, generic devices will not become a trademark even if they are advertised so heavily that secondary meaning can be proven in the mind of consumers.
What is a generic term?
Generic terms can never receive trademark protection. They are words or symbols that communicate what type of product or service is being offered. “Email” and “modem” are generic terms. A generic mark cannot acquire a secondary meaning because it refers to the category of product or service.
What is a coined mark?
1. COINED MARKS Coined marks are at the top of the scale in terms of distinctiveness and strength. A coined mark (also referred to as a “fanciful” mark) has no meaning at all apart from its association with a product or service—it is a “made-up” word (or design).
Can you use a generic name for a brand name?
Pass the Kleenex, please. Credit Credit… When you need to blow your nose, there’s a good chance you ask for a Kleenex, even if the box being handed to you doesn’t bear the Kimberly-Clark-owned Kleenex logo. When you use a brand name as a generic term, you’re using a proprietary eponym, or, more simply, a generic trademark.
Which is the best way to remind someone that Kleenex is a product?
The perfect time to remind a friend or family member that Kleenex is a brand name for a tissue is right when they are desperately begging you to hand them one. 12. Ping-Pong Ping Pong was trademarked in 1901 as a brand of table tennis products named for the sound the ball makes when it hits the table. 13. Popsicle
What is a generic English term?
English terms that originate from trademarks, brands and company names which have become genericized; that is, fallen into common usage in the target market’s vernacular, even when referring to other competing brands. According to Wikipedia also known as a generic trademark or proprietary eponym.
What are some examples of brand names used in everyday life?
Many items we use every day, like zippers and escalators, were once brand names. Even heroin, which no one should use any day, was a brand name. These names are or were trademarked, but are now often used to describe any brand in a product category. 1. Jet Ski.