These words were once brands: How communicators can avert genericide

Did you know that the verb “escalate” isn’t recorded until the 1920s, after the invention of the escalator? Yes, really. It’s an example of what’s called a “back-formation.”

The earliest working escalator-like device was patented in 1892 by Jesse Reno, who dubbed the “Endless Conveyor or Elevator.” Charles D. Seeberger, who purchased an earlier patent, trademarked the term “escalator” in 1889. The verb “escalate” is a back-formation of “escalator.” (There was a noun, “escalade,” that did exist before that, not as the name of a Cadillac SUV, but specifically as a 16th-century word for scaling fortifications with ladders.)

Think about that: This trademark changed the way we talk about so many things, even “escalating tensions” on the global stage.

That makes it a genericized trademark (also called a proprietary eponym), which presents quite a conundrum for a brand. Become so popular that you become The Word for the object you’re associated with, and the public may use that word for the whole category. 

You probably know that Kleenex and Band-Aid are trademarks many people use generically, in place of terms such as “tissue” and “adhesive bandage,” and that these brands push back against that generic usage.

After all, when people use a brand name as the common name for a category of project, a brand name can lose its legal protection in a process that’s sometimes called “trademark death” or “genericide.” And a company’s own word choices and communications can help that happen — or prevent it from happening.

The International Trademark Association developed guidance brands can follow to keep a trademark distinct and protected, and it’s all advice a communications team can help its organization develop and enforce. Among the organization’s advice:

• Set the rules early. Write an internal guide while the brand is still in development, then make it available to the people who create, approve and publish brand materials.
• Pair the brand with a generic noun. Choose the plain product term before launch and use the trademark as an adjective, followed by that noun. If the category term feels obscure or cumbersome, find a clearer one. If the product has no established category term, create one.
• Give people usable correction language. Prepare a short explanation of the correct usage that teams can send to consumers, licensees and other partners when they use the mark as a generic term. Keep the message friendly, firm and clear.
• Put the rules into the working documents. Include trademark guidance in brand manuals and agreements with agencies, licensees, distributors and dealers. Train employees and partners, too. 
• Check the company’s own copy. Use the trademark consistently in advertising, social posts, product descriptions, presentations and internal materials. INTA also advises teams to review promotional concepts for language or visuals that could blur the distinction between the brand and the product category.
• Monitor public and commercial use. Track coverage and online references, and watch new trademark filings for similar goods and services. INTA recommends using an experienced search vendor for this work.
• Keep the receipts. Save unsolicited public and press mentions. Those records can help establish how the public encounters the brand and how the company and its audiences have historically used it.

Words that were once brands …

On the lighter side, it can be fun to see words we use every day that began as product or brand names, and what happened to their trademark status. For example…

Linoleum
Frederick Walton coined the word in the 1860s for a floor covering. In 1878, a court rejected his claim to exclusive use of the word, which had become the name for the material after the product’s patent expired. Linoleum is often described as the first product name to become a generic term.

Laundromat
Westinghouse registered the term in the United States in the 1940s for automatic washing machines, then in the 1950s for coin laundries. That registration has since expired, though “coin laundry” is still among the other generic terms used for the service.

Videotape
Ampex Corporation, an early maker of audio and video tape recorders, originally trademarked the term, though it now serves as the everyday term for the recording medium.

Super glue
Loctite Corporation sought to register this term, though the court found it was already in generic use by early 1974, before Loctite’s application. In 1981, a federal court canceled Loctite’s registration after finding the term generic. Pacer Technology, on the other hand, still holds a trademark for “The Original Super Glue.”

Dumpster
The word is a portmanteau (mashup) of “dump” and Dempster, the name of the company that first developed a system for mechanically putting the contents of its containers onto garbage trucks. Its Dempster Dumpmaster was known as the first truck of its kind to use the front-loading system. The trademark was registered in 1963, and the U.S. registration was canceled in 2015 after a required maintenance filing was missed. 

Super Hero
Marvel and DC long jointly held U.S. trademark registrations for “Super Hero” and “Super Heroes.” After London-based comic book artist S.J. Richold’s company, Superbabies Ltd., petitioned to cancel the marks, the board ruled for Superbabies in September 2024 because Marvel and DC failed to answer the petition. Superbabies’ attorney said the ruling put “SUPER HEROES” in the public domain, making the term available to all storytellers. The board canceled Marvel and DC’s four registrations by default after the companies failed to answer the petition.

Taco Tuesday
Gregory’s Restaurant and Bar held a New Jersey registration for this term, while Taco John’s held registrations covering the other 49 states. In 2023, Taco John’s relinquished its registration after Taco Bell petitioned to cancel it. Gregory’s relinquished its New Jersey registration later that year, after Taco Bell also challenged it.

… And words that still are

Some brands still hold onto their trademarks, even if you’re unaware of them. Bubble Wrap, for instance: Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes were trying to make three-dimensional plastic wallpaper when their design took a different (and arguably more useful) turn and became the substance that’s popular for packing material now. Sealed Air Corporation introduced the Bubble Wrap brand in 1960. The name now gets used for similar cushioning material generally, while Sealed Air continues to market BUBBLE WRAP® as a specific brand. Similarly, Gerber Childrenswear still owns the “Onesies” brand name for infant bodysuits and objects to the generic use of the name. The plural brand name has also supplied the everyday singular “onesie” for all sorts of jumpsuits. (That ‘s’ is doing a lot of work.)