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From: jeff@rtech.ARPA (Jeff Lichtman)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Tradenames used as generic nouns
Message-ID: <246@rtech.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 21-Mar-85 03:38:00 EST
Article-I.D.: rtech.246
Posted: Thu Mar 21 03:38:00 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 25-Mar-85 02:30:53 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: Relational Technology, Berkeley CA
Lines: 43

Some tradenames are commonly used as generic terms.  If a company that
owns a tradename doesn't actively protect it when other companies use it,
then a court can rule that the name has become part of the language (i.e.
a generic), at least in the U.S.  Here are some examples of tradenames
that people use as generics (not necessarily recognized by the court as
generic).  Please note that I don't want to discuss the legal aspects here;
move the discussion to net.legal if you want to talk about this.

	Coke		- The Coca Cola company gets angry if someone
			  in a restaurant asks for a Coke and gets Pepsi.
			  Waiters are supposed to say "We don't serve Coke.
			  Would Pepsi be OK?", or something like that.

	Kleenex

	Band-Aid

	Jell-o

	Xerox		- This is less commonly used as a generic name than
			  it used to be (or so it seems to me).  Maybe this
			  is because other copier companies have become more
			  prominent.

	Frigidaire	- It used to be common to use this to mean
			  "refrigerator".

	Linoleum	- Is this one no longer a protected tradename?

	Formica		- or this?

	Vaseline

	Q-Tip

	Saran Wrap

Are any of the above tradenames in danger of becoming "aspirins" (aspirin
used to be a tradename of the Bayer company)?  Can anyone think of any I
have left out?
-- 
Jeff Lichtman at rtech (Relational Technology, Inc.)
aka Swazoo Koolak