information Genericized trademarks - flying disc is ok, Frisbee is not

[HotKey]

Genericized trademarks: A product so popular that people use the brand-name to identify it, rather than the generic term.

I was doing some reading in my throne room the other day, and came across this interesting tidbit. It's something to keep in mind when buying domains. Here's some examples of name brands that have gone generic, and what they technically should be called.

• Frisbee: flying disc
• Kleenex: tissue
• Lava Lamp: liquid motion lamp
• Dumpster: front-end waster container
• Chapstick: lip balm
• HackySack: footbag
• Jet Ski: personal watercraft
• Jacuzzi: whirlpool bath
• AstroTurf: artificial turf
• JumboTron: large-screen television
• Onesie: infant bodysuit
• Superglue: cyanoacrylate adhesive
• Rollerblades: inline skates
• Speedos: swim briefs
• Styrofoam: extruded polystyrene foam

Some of these really surprised me, especially Onesie.

On the flip-side, there are also many generic words that are more associated with a name brand than their actual dictionary definition. Also something to watch out for, depending on what you are planning on doing with the domain.

source: Uncle John's Bathroom Reader (a real book)

 

[HotKey]

Came across this one recently, had no idea:

Ping-Pong: table tennis

The term is a registered trademark owned by Parker Brothers. The game has been an Olympic sport since 1988, officially called table tennis.

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[HotKey]

A few more good examples of why a branded name caught on more than the generic term:

• Escalator: moving staircase
• Highlighter: felt-tip writing device
• Scotch tape: transparent adhesive tape
• Granola: whole grain cereal
• Baggies: plastic sandwich bags
• Botox: intramuscular botulinum toxin
• Zeppelin: rigid airship

So who's ready to go sell a felt-tip writing device while eating whole grain cereal on a rigid airship? Nay nay.. not I

 

[D Haynes]

Hoover - Vacume Cleaner

Some of the above are used generically by all brands like granola, super glue and onesie.

 

[HotKey]

Hoover - Vacume Cleaner

Some of the above are used generically by all brands like granola, super glue and onesie.

Yep, some of those marks have long expired in most countries but now ingrained as generic. Though Granola for example still has an active trademark in NZ and Australia. Onesies, with the "s" is still active TM.

I wonder if there's any terms within the last 20 years that we see as generic rather than it's branded mark? Google has embedded itself almost synonymously with "search".. we google something. For now our generation knows the relationship, in the future it could become genericized.