We often forget that commonly used terms such as ‘Xerox’ or ‘Band-aid’ are not generic terms but are trademarked names. ‘Band-Aid’ was first invented, manufactured and sold by Johnson and Johnson way back in 1921 and it became highly popular house-hold name for medicated adhesives. Same is true about ‘Xerox’ which is essentially name of the company ‘Xerox Corporation’ which manufactures photocopying machines but it has become synomn for photocopying.

There are many other product names which have become generic. For instance- ‘Laundromat’ is another trade mark which people often forget.  Even ‘Google’ has become synonym for web-search. There are lesser known names like ‘Zipper’ which has acquired a popular meaning of its own.

Linguist may call this ‘Metonymy’ – a part comes to be referred as whole. But still some brands do not want to be lost in colloquial exchange and are on guard when they name their products, for instance, ‘Jell-O’ is ‘Jell-O brand gelatin’. Xerox Corporation made conscious effort to popularize the word ‘Photocopy’. And Johnson and Johnson has come a long way since 1921 and has launched many products to assert its individual brand identity.

Of course legal and business implications of trademark name and brand name usage are more worrying. One would still wonder – Does popular product name becoming a generic name – an everyday use verb or noun- a true success and popularity of a brand or do brand names get lost as a result?

Via Ads of the World