Velcro<\/a> is still a federally registered trademark whereas escalator, yo-yo, and thermos<\/a> have all lost their trademark status due to genericide<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Want to learn more about trademarks and genericide? Continue reading below.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n What is a trademark? <\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n A trademark is generally a word, symbol, or other design that is used to indicate the source of a product or service. Think of product names like Apple\u2019s iPhone, logos like McDonald\u2019s golden arches, or slogans like Skittles\u2019 \u201ctaste the rainbow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The underlying purpose of a trademark<\/a> is to tell consumers where the thing they\u2019re buying is coming from. You know that the soda you bought was made by Coca Cola because it says it right there on the can. No other company is allowed to put the words \u201cCoca Cola\u201d on their products, otherwise, consumers would get confused about who made the soda.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Importantly, trademarks may be registered with the federal government<\/a> if they meet certain criteria related to their \u201cdistinctiveness\u201d and if they\u2019re actually in use (although registration is not necessary to have a valid, protectable trademark). This registration process gives the trademark certain protections<\/a> to prevent other companies from using the same trademark. Check out my prior <\/em>Trademark Trivia<\/em><\/a> blog post for more information on what a trademark is.<\/em><\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n What does it mean for a trademark to be generic?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n A generic<\/a> word is a word that is the default term among consumers for the class of goods or services. A generic word fails to distinguish the source of the good because it is the term that everyone uses for that particular thing. Accordingly, a generic term cannot<\/em> be trademarked. For example, \u201cchair\u201d is a generic term for the thing you sit on everyday \u2013there\u2019s no other easy way to describe it. If it were a trademark, no one else would be able to sell those things as \u201cchairs,\u201d without infringing on the trademark. This would not be a very effective or fair system, so generic terms are not able to be trademarked for its respective class of goods.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n However, even marks that are initially sufficiently distinctive and thus protectable (i.e. they could be registered) may at some future point become generic<\/a>. This process, called \u201cgenericide<\/a>,\u201d results in the loss of the trademark registration. This usually happens when a product is very successful and usually fairly novel and becomes the colloquial way to refer to a product because there\u2019s no other way to identify the object. For example, when Otis Elevator created the escalator, there was no product on the market that essentially combined the elevator and the stairs. But because everyone referred to the invention as an \u201cescalator\u201d (including in the patent),\u00a0 that mark became the generic term.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Words that have suffered genericide: <\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Here are some generic terms that were originally registered trademarks, but have since lost their trademark status because they were deemed generic:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n How do you prevent genericide? <\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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