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Sometimes we wonder who reads the newspaper.
Well, I can tell you one group of people who do: corporate attorneys.
I have heard from them more than once when they feel I have not treated the brand name they represent appropriately. Basically, that means if the product has a registered trademark, one is legally required to add the little ® symbol.
It makes sense that a company wants to protect its brand. In fact, if a brand falls into too casual use the company can actually lose rights to it.
Once I wrote a column mentioning Velcro instead of Velcro® and received a stern letter admonishing me that theirs is a specific brand of hook and loop fastener and hope that I would be more careful in the future.
Another time, I mentioned the innovative product, Beano®. If you are not familiar with it, taking some of the product before consuming a meal of, well, beans, or similar gas-producing foods cuts any odoriferous results off at the pass.
They reminded me to be more careful, but also sent a box full of samples including Beano® for dogs. Truly a miracle product.
Anyway, it’s easy to misuse eponyms (that’s what they are called; I saw this in a piece of clickbait the other day that spurred this writing). It shows the efficacy of advertising, and is easy to do.
Not every cola is a Coke®.
Not every front loader trash container is a Dumpster®.
Not every string trimmer is a Weed Eater®/
Not every facial tissue is a Kleenex®.
Not every bandage is a Band-Aid®.
Not every brush cutter is a Bush Hog®.
Not every vacuum flask is a Thermos®
Not every flying disc is a Frisbee®.
Not every polystyrene foam cup is Styrofoam®.
Not all petroleum jelly is Vasoline®
Not all self-service washing facilities are Laundromats®.
Not all electric shock devices are Tasers®.
Not all plastic food storage containers are Tupperware®.
Not every photocopy is a Xerox®.
There are many more examples. Some may be trademark protected in one country, but not another.
If you want to know about trademarks that have been lost due to overuse and lack of protection, here are some from one of the internet pieces.
Thermos (still trademarked in some countries)
There’s no great meaning here other than it’s interesting how seeing the name of something often enough can make it ingrained into one’s automatic responses.
Think about it and you may be surprised how many brand names you are using for generic products.
Lynn is the managing editor of the New Albany Gazette.
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