Is Google's Trademark in Danger of Changing into Generic?
Is Google's Trademark in Danger of Changing into Generic
?
In writing for my blog I have to be compelled to wondering the hassle Google's trademark might be in. While having your complete become a household name is something virtually each company dreams of - it's its downside as well. Take for example the case of many brands that have become therefore generic that their former standing as proprietary emblems are often unknown to the general public at giant, and have become "totally generic".
Therefore according to the U.S. Trademark Act (Title fifteen USC ? 1127 ) the trademark is considered abandoned, "When any course of conduct of the owner, including acts of omission also commission, causes the mark to become the generic name for the products or services on or in association with that it is used or otherwise to lose its significance as a mark." In other words if Google promotes use of the term "googling", or doesn't sufficiently fight it then it can be thought of abandoned.
Even in the cases where the original registrations for the logos stay in force, it's unlikely that the registered house owners would be ready to successfully enforce their exclusive rights against third parties. Here are simply a few samples of brands that have lost their trademarks and become fully generic terms:
Asprin - trademarked in many countries as Bayer however not in the U.S.
crock pot - the official term Crock-Pot is held Rival Industries but terms such as "crock pot" or "crock-pot" are commonly used to describe any slow cooker.
heroin - believe it or not this was actually trademarked by Bayer as a pain reliever however the trademark was lost around 1914 when heroin might now not legally be sold to consumers.
pilates - the official exercise system's trademark was revoked in 2000 becasue it absolutely was deemed unenforcable.
Don't believe me? Here's what The United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit had to mention on the matter: