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Don't Say Velcro (2017)

velcro.com

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Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#131

Post by aidenn0 »

JohnFen wrote: post #84
merelysounds wrote: post #28

Related, Google wrote a blog post[1] on a similar topic in 2006. As far as I know they've successfully avoided genericide and a 2017 lawsuit[2] ended with a ruling in their favor. Also, unsurprisingly, Adobe has a whole section in their trademarks page about photoshopping[3]: > Correct: The image was enhanced with Adobe® Photoshop® Elements software. > Incorrect: The image was photoshopped. [1]: https://googleblog.bl…

> Correct: The image was enhanced with Adobe® Photoshop® Elements software. This makes me laugh every time I read it. Surely, even the lawyers at Adobe are fully aware that literally nobody is going to use that mouthful of a term (complete with ®s, even). I always wonder why they didn't come up with a replacement that would actually have a chance.

> This makes me laugh every time I read it. Surely, even the lawyers at Adobe are fully aware that literally nobody is going to use that mouthful of a term (complete with ®s, even).

I guarantee you marketing teams at Adobe will use that term.

Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#132

Post by firebat45 »

wazoox wrote: post #68
bradley13 wrote: post #5

Reminds me of the dark ages, when Xerox was so dominant in the copier market that people used their brand as a noun and a verb. They were threatened with loss of their trademark, because it had become so generic. So they had a massive publicity campaign, asking people to say "copy" instead of "xerox". Is this a uniquely US thing? In the UK, people always say "hoover" instead of "vacuum".

In France many trademarks became generic names: Frigidaire and its abbreviated form frigo is the standard name for a refrigerator (nobody ever says "réfrigérateur"). Kleenex is the standard word meaning "paper handkerchief". Sopalin is the standard word for "roll of paper towels". Many automotive parts are called from a brand name too : "Delco" is the only name an igniter is ever called; a flexible black tube is alwa…

>Cellophane is called Cellophane.

This floor is made of floor

Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#133

Post by rel »

gumby wrote: post #89

« Velcro » is just roughly short for “hook (and) loop” in French (Velour et crochet — velvet and hook). So why not use the abbreviation? Trademarking it is like trademarking any common word, like Windows. Actually I do have some sympathy; from working at Xerox I somehow was convinced to say “photocopy” (not that anyone uses either expression any more). And I always say “web search” because I don’t want to endorse or…

Reminds me tangentially of this great recreation of a deposition: https://youtu.be/PZbqAMEwtOE

Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#135

Post by bitwize »

Dwedit wrote: post #101
bitwize wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the "defend it or lose it" nature of trademarks may be a US wrinkle, but I'm not sure. During the 90s, Nintendo popularized the use of the term "game console" to avoid people's moms calling their competitors "Nintendos". Like Atari before them, their name had become synonymous with video games in general, something they wanted to avoid in order to protect their trademark. There are references to "consoles" be…

The manuals for the NES, SNES, and N64 never once used the term "Game Console". They exclusively called it the "Control Deck". It's not until the GameCube (2001) that they finally refer to the system as a "Console" in the user manual. Does anyone know any people who actually called their consoles "Control Decks"?

Again, Control Deck was how they branded their own products. In the 90s they ran advertisements advising people to refer to their competitors' products as game consoles. I don't remember anyone using the term "Control Deck" to refer to the console.

Nintendo also referred to their cartridges as Game Paks, another term not used outside official Nintendo materials (including Nintendo Power). Everybody just called them cartridges, carts, or just games. It kind of reminds me of how Texas Instruments tried to get "Command Module" over as a term for their TI-99/4(A) cartridges. It didn't go over.

Oddly enough, the official TI-ism for the 99/4A unit itself was "console".

Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#136

Post by CannisterFlux »

In Spanish it's officially "velcro" from the French abbreviation https://dle.rae.es/velcro and no alternative. About as generic as you get.

Speaking of velcro shoes, I inherited some velcro fastening trainers because my eldest kid felt he'd grown out of using them (he has the same size foot as me). I feel very self conscious wearing them in public because nobody wears velcro trainers. In the 6 months I've had them, I've been keeping an eye out in a busy European city, and I've seen just 1 person and that was a sort of work uniform shoe some guy had. Nobody has "fashion" velcro shoes. They do look kinda goofy I suppose.

Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#137

Post by Tagbert »

fragmede wrote: post #128
sangnoir wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So why not use the abbreviation? HooLoo? I think another company may object to that name.

Hulu, the video streaming company, doesn't do much in the textiles/garmeny industry, and would have little trademark claim to the name used in a different industry.

Unless they were Monster Incorporated, makers of expensive, gold-plated cables with a history of seeing anyone who uses “monster” in a product name regardless of commercial industry.

Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#139

Post by janci »

Nifty3929 wrote: post #104

I think this is one of those weird cases where they have to tell you the opposite of what they actually want, for legal reasons. I think VELCRO(r) actually DOES want everybody to use their name the way it is commonly used - it's good for brand recognition. But legally, retaining control of their brand requires them to clearly defend it from such generic use. This post is an example of that. If someone is using their…

Same as LEGO brick controversy. Supposedly the bricks are not Legos, LEGOs and certainly not legos. At least per their legal dept.

Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#140

Post by milsorgen »

gumby wrote: post #89

« Velcro » is just roughly short for “hook (and) loop” in French (Velour et crochet — velvet and hook). So why not use the abbreviation? Trademarking it is like trademarking any common word, like Windows. Actually I do have some sympathy; from working at Xerox I somehow was convinced to say “photocopy” (not that anyone uses either expression any more). And I always say “web search” because I don’t want to endorse or…

I say bing it just to go against the grain. There was a time when people thought twice upon hearing it but now most people inherently understand the phrase which is mildly amusing.
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