A Quick Word on Genericide
Sometimes a company's trademark can become so pervasive and widely used in popular culture that consumers begin to associate the branding with a generic type of product or service. While this popularity may seem like a good problem to have at first, it can actually lead to a loss of trademark rights.
Remember, a trademark must be distinctive and capable of identifying the brand owner in order to serve as a trademark. Trademark “genericide” is a process where a once-distinctive trademark becomes so commonly used to refer to a general category of products or services that it loses its status as a protected trademark and becomes usable by anyone in the public.
In other words, when a trademark becomes synonymous with the entire category of products or services it represents, it is no longer capable of distinguishing the specific source of those goods or services. This can happen when the public starts using the trademark to refer to any similar product or service, regardless of its origin. Unfortunately, genericide often happens to those that are the first to market or the most popular brand for a product or service.
From time to time, That’s a Trademark may highlight a trademark that you may be surprised to learn is a trademark. Maybe you even mistakenly believed that it was a type of product or generic word. A loss of trademark rights by genericide does not occur until the trademark is abandoned or cancelled after a legal finding. Just because a trademark suffers from some generic use by the public does not mean that the trademark is generic and has lost all legal protection. Every trademark we highlight is a valid, enforceable trademark in the United States [1]. That’s a Trademark is a proponent of strong rights for all trademark owners. By highlighting any trademark, we only advocate for the strength and continued rights in that trademark for the brand owner, and absolutely make no assertion that a given trademark is generic. [2]
Want to learn more about trademarks? Trademark genericide is the death of a trademark registration; the US TM Registration Process is the birth of a trademark registration. You may also enjoy our posts on Why Should I Care About Trademarks?, Design (Traditional) Marks, and Position (Non-Traditional) Marks.
Copyright © 2024 by Illustrated IP, LLC. All rights reserved.
[1] At the time of publication.
[2] Best Practices to Avoid Genericide, INTA, published May 1, 2019, and available at https://www.inta.org/news-and-press/inta-news/famous-and-well-known-marks-committee-develops-best-practices-to-avoid-genericide/; Famous and Well-Known Marks Committee Publishes Guidelines for Best Practices to Avoid Genericide, INTA, published November 1, 2023, and available at https://www.inta.org/news-and-press/inta-news/famous-and-well-known-marks-committee-publishes-guidelines-for-best-practices-to-avoid-genericide/.