How to handle genericized trademarks in your writing

What is a generic trademark?

A trademark is an identifier for a specific product or service. This can take the form of a symbol, word, phrase, design, or a combination, and it’s classified as intellectual property to protect a brand’s identity and reputation. To be legally protected from fraud, misuse, or imitation, it must be legally registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or similar foreign agencies.

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Conversely, a generic trademark is a term that has lost its trademark status and has become a common name for a product or service.

Some former brand names and trademarks were ruled generic over a century ago. For example, at the turn of the century, aspirin was once a privately owned brand name. Because trademarks can vary by country, other brands of aspirin sell under names such as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) tablets in places like Canada.

Not all popular products become generic trademarks. You would wear a Rolex, which is a specific brand of watch, and drive a Chevrolet, which is a best-selling make of car, but neither term has made their way into ubiquity as “Velcro” or “Jell-O.”

Examples of generic trademarks

Some generic trademarks have long become part of our daily vocabulary. You might be surprised to learn that the following terms and phrases were once protected brand names, registered by their parent companies:

• Cellophane (only legally generic in the U.S.)
• Flip phone
• Dry ice
• Escalator
• Kerosene
• Hovercraft
• Laundromat (trademark expired in the 1950s)
• Linoleum (trademarked by Frederick Walton in 1864)
• Videotape

Other trademarks are colloquially used as generic stand-ins for their products, representing an entire category or even an action associated with the product. However, they’re still legally trademarked, and other companies cannot refer to competing products as them.

Here are some well-known examples:

• “Band-Aid” instead of adhesive bandage
• “Kleenex” instead of facial tissue
• “Hoover” instead of vacuum (especially as a verb “to hoover”)
• “Jacuzzi” instead of hot tub
• “Xerox” instead of photocopier (or as a verb “to photocopy”)

The brands and companies that own these trademarks have attempted to avoid trademark erosion or genericization by protecting them through public-facing campaigns, copyright laws, and legal action. For example, the colorful plastic building blocks you’re familiar with are always referred to as “Lego bricks” or “Lego toys” by their parent company, but almost never by the general public.

How to legally use generic trademarks

Misusing trademarks as generic can lead to accusations of copyright infringement. The aforementioned “linoleum” is considered the first term legally ruled generic by a court of law in 1878.

To avoid issues, write about specific products in a way that seems like you’re not endorsing the product or that the company isn’t endorsing your work. If you mention someone smoking a specific brand of cigarettes, for example, write in a way that simply indicates a character preference or trait, instead of an endorsement from the writer.

Avoid legally protected trademarks by using generic terms. Your characters can simply wipe their noses with tissues instead of Kleenexes, or you can make up a brand if it becomes a major plot point.

You can mention a company under rules governing parody (i.e. “McDowell’s” in the film Coming to America). You can write about true incidents; if a company recalls a product, this is considered news, is on a legal record, and cannot be refuted.

Learn about other ways to get the most out of your writing, such as correctly employing quotation marks—a key distinguisher of brand names or parody. Read up on writing tips such as styles of language, or build up your characters with enhanced dialogue.