Genericised trademark

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This article/section is a stub — probably a pile of half-sorted notes and is probably a first version, is not well-checked, so may have incorrect bits. (Feel free to ignore, or tell me)

Genericised trademarks / generic trademark refer to trademarks (typically brand names) that became an everyday term.

Note that it having become an everyday term does not mean the trademark is not enforceable, though it is not always great PR to do so.


See also the closely related trademark erosion, a.k.a. genericization or genericide, referring to variants where the trademark is effectively lost (due to its practical requirements).


Examples of genericised trademarks include

Band-Aid (for an adhesive bandage),
Kleenex (for absorbent tissues),
Google/googling as a verb meaning 'searching the web',
Velcro (for hook-and-loop fastener),
Chapstick (for lip balm),
Tupperware (for plastic food storage),
Crock-pot (for any slow cooker),
kapton (for polyamide tape),
Windbreaker,
Post-Its (for sticky notes),
Popsicle (for ice pops),
Hoover (for vacuuming),
Xerox (for copying, named for the copying machines, though this one is relatively local, and may now be falling out of style),
Q-tip (for cotton swabs),
Alka-Selzer (for antacids),
Styrofoam (for polystyrene foam),
Plexiglas (for polymethyl methacrylate),
Ouija board (for a spirit board),
Softies (microphone wind protection),
hacky sack (for footbags),
Sharpie (for permanent markers),
TASER,
Frisbee,
Hula-hoop,
Jacuzzi,
Zamboni

and many others.


Note that various can be understood both generically, or to the original product - e.g. a Sharpie may be a permanent marker, but many people will still mean the specific branded one when they say Sharpie.


Also things like bubble wrap, jet ski, dumpster, and onesies. These were arguably more descriptive to start with, and only distinctive enough to be recognized as useful names, but not necessarily distinctive enough to be clearly recognizable as a brand.