A trademark protects a brand’s uniqueness and distinguishes it from its competitors. However, utilizing a generic trademark for a brand doesn’t make it stand out from the crowd.
Also, a business cannot register a generic trademark with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) as it describes a product in a common way. For example, a coffee brand symbolizes “coffee,” or an ice cream brand is called “ice cream.” Let’s discuss the evolution of generic trademarks.
Generic Trademark: Meaning
A generic mark is the normal terminology or words the general public uses to describe a product or service—for example, apple, a general name for a fruit, and so on.
Why Do Trademarks Become Genericized?
When a brand becomes extremely famous among individuals over a lengthy period of time, the brand’s trademark may become genericized. As a result, rather than referring to a specific brand, the trademark would be used to refer to items of any brand. For example, the trademark “Maggie” once belonged to a company that made instant noodles, but it is now used to refer to instant noodles of any brand. Remember certain elements while referring to a trademark name or marketing your brand to prevent being genericized.
Let’s dive into the evolution of generic trademarks
- Past generic trademarks
When people began to use a renowned brand name to identify or link it with a product or service rather than its source, trademark genericide, or the death of a trademark, occurred. The identical thing is buried at the trademark cemetery. The more popular the product, the more likely it is to become a generic phrase due to the consumer’s continued incorrect usage of it to describe a broad category of products or services.
Bayer AG used to be the only owner of the trademark’s “aspirin” (acetylsalicylic acid registration) and “heroin” (morphine registration). “Escalator” was registered by Otis Elevator, which mistakenly utilized the mark in its patent applications. “Thermos” was registered as a trademark in the United States in 1892 and lost its registration in 1963, although it is still a recognized mark in other countries.
- Present generic trademarks
For the average trademark owner, the danger of genericide is modest. According to McKenna, it is also “way overstated by trademark owners who want to shut down another use but want to shield themselves from the bad public relations of doing so.”
- Future generic trademarks
USPTO made an update in the generic trademark policy. Before the policy change, Trademark Examining Attorneys at the USPTO applied a stricter level of examination of “clear evidence” when rejecting a proposed trademark application based on genericness. The Trademark Office has recently stated that Examining Attorneys must provide a “reasonable basis” for determining that the mark is generic under the appropriate criteria.
Do you want to know if your suggested trademark is generic or not?
If the answer is yes, then you have come to the right place. Now you understand the evolution of generic trademarks, and if you have any doubts, contact prevalent ltd for consultation and get the solution to your doubts.