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Don't Say Velcro (2017)

velcro.com

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Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#141

Post by NegativeK »

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…

There's a middle ground between not having enough brand recognition and losing control over your trademark to the point where it becomes generic.

Defending and suing helps keep it in the middle ground, but they're not going to sue Pat on the street for misusing the word -- which is where generic comes from, right?

Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#142

Post by NegativeK »

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.

People with enough reach to be worth suing will write it that way, or close enough.

Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#144

Post by ranting-moth »

cratermoon wrote: post #115
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…

HoLo?

No, they're usually high.

Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#145

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

grishka wrote: post #105
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 Russian it did stick as a word for photocopiers (ксерокс), copies (ксерокопия) and the act of copying (ксерить, ксерокопировать) to this day. At this point it's more of a legend, but it goes that the word we use for toilet, унитаз, is the brand name of the company that sold toilets in 19th century. Scotch is one brand of adhesive tape but we call all such tape "скотч".

Other than ксерокс, the other uses can be considered valid applications of the Greek root words.

Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#146

Post by compiler-guy »

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…

"Velcro" wasn't a common word, and was not short for "hook and loop" when the company trademarked it. They coined the term.

They are desperately trying to make it _not_ the abbreviation this comment claims it to be. Quite like "kleenex" in that way.

Normal people generally shouldn't care what the company's legal team wants or thinks--this campaign certainly doesn't stop me from using the term generically--but if the company defends its trademark in this way, it can extend the time _other_ _companies_ can use it as a generic description of what it does.

Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#147

Post by compiler-guy »

If you've never seen the video ad that went along with this campaign, it's hilarious and worth watching, as is the follow up. I love the good humor about the whole thing. And it has made their campaign stick in ways that other similar campaigns have not.

https://youtu.be/rRi8LptvFZY?si=nfzpn2DDngeyyETN

https://youtu.be/ZLWMQLMiTPk?si=28csS65KpQyoFrEn

Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#148

Post by vel0city »

JohnFen wrote: post #90
vel0city wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in a region where lots of people refer to most colas as "coke", but you bet if I start selling cola in a red can with "Coke" on it I'm going to have some lawyers showing up at my door.

This. I don't think that "coke" on its own can be trademarked because it's an actual common word (a form of coal). The trademark would have to be the word in combination with other aspects that make it distinctive. The color scheme, or font, or associated decorative elements, for instance. "Coca-Cola", however, is distinctive on its own and is trademarkable as such.

The Coca-Cola Company absolutely has a registered trademark of Coke for a ton of different products.

https://www.gerbenlaw.com/trademarks/food-companies/coca-col...

Trademarks are all about context. Exxon used to have a cartoon tiger as a mascot who sometimes looked a bit like Tony the Tiger. This was usually fine because the contexts were pretty different, one was for foods and one was for gasoline, radically different product markets. However, once Exxon started using their cartoon tiger mascot to sell the foods in the TigerMart convenience stores Kellog sued them and won.

https://www.forbes.com/2000/10/17/1017forbes500.html?sh=6a04...

If I go to a restaurant and ask for "Coke" they're not going to get confused and grab me some coal. I'd be pretty confused to open a red 12oz can that says Coke on it and find it full of coal dust. Nobody is confusing these products.

Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#149

Post by PopAlongKid »

PopAlongKid wrote: post #63
Faaak wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Correct: The image was enhanced with Adobe® Photoshop® Elements software. Dumb question: how would you pronounce this if you were saying it ? Specifically the ® symbol ?

"R in circle". Just like copyright is "C in circle".

Why the downvotes for such a simple, factual statement that answered the question? If you do an internet search for the phrase "C in circle" you'll find it is a quite common way to describe this symbol. On the Wikipedia talk page, someone mentioned hearing this description in their school textbooks which were recorded in an audio version. Way back when I volunteered for Recording for the Blind (now Learning Ally) I recall that this was also the designated way to read this symbol.

Re: Don't Say Velcro (2017)

#150

Post by Dwedit »

bitwize wrote: post #135
Dwedit wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 c…

The famous 1990 ad saying "There's no such thing as a Nintendo" https://images.nintendolife.com/16326a1099812/no-such-thing-... does not mention "Consoles". Do you know of any 90s Nintendo ads that do use the word Console?
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