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93 Comments
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+37I guess we won't see the Washington Post come up on search results any more.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+24Is there a helpline for people who are considering genericide?
- TheLiberator, on 10/12/2007, -7/+29@Kev1000000
"I dont understand why companies would be upset over this."
Perhaps these multi-billion dollar companies understand something you don't. - dienacht, on 10/12/2007, -10/+32Because if your trademarked product enters the public. vernacular, you can no longer claim control over its use in other products. For example, if the word "google" became so popular with running a search, Microsoft could release "MS google" and there's not a damn thing that the original Google could do about it.
- noGoodNamesLeft, on 10/12/2007, -1/+22Oddly, a couple of the examples you gave aren't common usage in the UK. Here, "Xerox" is really just the name of one company and the generic terms photocopy and photocopier are in everyday use. This is possibly because- as Wikipedia mentions- Xerox never had the same dominant position in the UK market as they did in the US.
"Kleenex" isn't so common as a generic term here either; we'd just say tissues.
On the other hand, it goes both ways. In Britain "Hoover" (as in the company name) is a commonly-used expression for "vacuum cleaner". I remember when I was a kid finding it strange that Hoover made (e.g.) washing machines...
Links:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photocopier#Use ("Xerox" v. "Photocopier")
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_cleaner#Hoover ("Hoover" v. "Vacuum cleaner") - gcnaddict, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23That list of trademark uses is not unlike the one issued by Adobe® on its webpage in regards to its Adobe® Photoshop® software:
http://www.adobe.com/misc/trade.html#photoshop
Google™ has more humor though :P - ludwik, on 10/12/2007, -3/+24"Companies like Google are forced to write letters to those who misuse their trademark as a verb (verbs cannot be trademarked). If they don’t, the US Patent and Trademark Office may decide that the company is no longer interested in maintaining ownership of its trademarked term."
(from http://xooglers.blogspot.com/2006/07/this-word-just-in.html ) - gcnaddict, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19but the problem it poses is that they could literally lose the trademark to the word. Otis lost the rights to the word "elevator" after it was frequently used as a noun for all elevation apparatuses. As a result, now every elevator manufacturer can feel free to call their machines "elevators" and they don't need to worry about trademark harassment or even how the noun is used. Once a trademark goes generic, it no longer needs to be capitalized.
Basically, Google doesn't want to lose rights over its name. - Bioshocker, on 10/12/2007, -4/+21It is? I'd never say I "Googled" something when in fact I used Yahoo or MSN or something. Which is what this article is basically claiming.
- cozinator, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18"Personally, I'm that ***** who corrects people who "TiVo" a show with ***** knockoffs they get from their cable/satellite provider."
I bet you get invited over alot. - chad78, on 10/12/2007, -4/+17Google said Hottie. That's awesome.
- ZenKai, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13The best is the fact that, not only did Google use the word "hottie" in their official correspondence, they also plagiarize a MacHall comic ("He ego-surfs on the Google search engine to see if he's listed in the results")! ROFL
- kaddar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Honestly, this article was pretty annoying. I thought it was awesome how Google included the "I googled that hottie", as inappropriate. This is truly a company trying to be good when the law states they have to be *****. To the article writer: Why take them to task for having good humor?
Another thing that irked me about this article was: "I'll note that in my Palm. Excuse me -- my "personal digital assistant."", what is wrong with saying PDA? I guess it's ok if you say Palm, but most people who don't want to say Palm will say PDA, not personal digital assistant.
Is it time we try to change trademark laws? Maybe. At least Google has some humor about this.
Excuse me while I go play Jet Set Radio on my "Nintendo". - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10dienacht - clearly you are not a trademark lawyer, so we can forgive your ignorance. However, since you are ignoramnt, don't act like an expert, because you sound like a fool. Curad cannot name their bandages Band-Aids, despite that word entering the vernacular. Canon cannot come out with a line of Xerox machines, and only Unilever can call their cotton swabs Q-Tips.
Similarly, no matter how many times people say "I googled that" Microsoft or Yahoo cannot name their search "google." - TheCount, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8How often do you get punched in the face?
- Mpulse, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6@Bronco24
Dude, chill.
I felt the flow of this particular tangent in the thread was to point out the different generic uses for brand names in particular regions. So, I commented in a way that I felt was relevent. I happen to be from Arkansas and around here it has nothing to do with people who can't speak english. Where I'm from it's simply a part of the vernacular like "ain't." Don't make asumptions when you don't know the full story. - Mpulse, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Believe it or not. Some people in the American south refer to all soft drinks as "Coke."
i.e.
"You want a Coke?" "Sure, get me a Dr. Pepper." - Shmoo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7No it is not good, because then people associate the word google with the act of searching, and not the company. Once that's done, anyone can be a google. You can go to MSN and "google" something, or go to Yahoo and "google" something, and people will forget what Google initially was.
Like someone said earlier, Kleenex is a good example. Now any generic tissue brand is considered Kleenex as well. I say "pass me the Kleenex" not caring what brand it is. - rpike, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7So what does this mean? I can't google hotties anymore or I just can't say I google hotties?
- SniperGX1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Google(TM) is shallow and pedantic
- Swift2, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7The old conventional wisdom isn't true. In the new information environment, the best thing that can happen to you is to become one of those generic names. Google, iPod, all of the new names are a great advantage. Somebody who wants an mp3 player which plays video is going to say, "iPod!" Sure, there are other brands, but the thing itself is enshrined as your brand name. Google is the same. The best thing in the world for them is the "free advertising" that the people have given IN THEIR NEW WORD. "Google yourself" is a joke and something everybody's done. If I say, "Yahoo yourself," I wouldn't know what you're talking about.
But the lawyers are going by the copyright law. Once somebody calls Kleenex kleenex, then you lose control of the brand name. Technically, anybody else could come along and sell Smith brand kleenex once you've lost control. Or they could say they have a Samsung xerox machine.
Once "google" is just a noun, then Yahoo could, possibly, introduce their Yahoo google engine, so they have to fight it. As for them telling a national newspaper what appropriate and inappropriate usages are, screw 'em. - karmakanic, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8...band-aid, koolade, jello...
- ludwik, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Here is an explanation from former Google employee http://xooglers.blogspot.com/2006/07/this-word-just-in.html
- Webwonk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4This issue has created an entire cottage industry of lawyers and PR firms who hassle news media about their use of company names. I worked at a newspaper for many years, and would get a letter everytime we ever mentioned "styrofoam" or "realtor" without the proper capitalization and tradmark. Those two were the worst. Uh oh. Did I just misuse their trademarks on Digg? Wait a sec while I google the phrases styrofoam, realtor and trademark ....
- Metal_Hurlant, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Repeat after me:
"When in doubt, google it on Yahoo!" - shmatt, on 10/12/2007, -11/+15Google has more humour? only if they meant to be ironic, which appears not to be the case...
Google's just another big fat company with lawyers now. They're losing touch.. you's think they'd be ecstatic that google is a verb now. OK, if they don't wanbt me to say it, I won't say it.. ever.... hellloo yahoo. fuvk it.
mod me down googlelovers. - KnightMareInc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I mean has anybody ever said they're gonna google something on yahoo or msn?
- surfit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Another British thing is to call a public address system a Tannoy. Personally I try to avoid using brand/company names as generic labels for products since I feel like I am advertising their product for free, same with clothes with huge labels on the outside...
- OrangeTide, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3But Kleenex and Band-Aid are still doing fine with their trademarks.
- bbatsell, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@ModernGeek:
If you'd bothered to do even just a smidgeon of light reading, you'd have learned that they have to do it for legal reasons in order to protect their property. If you'd read the examples listed in the article, you'd also realize that the way Google did it was pretty light-hearted and funny. But don't let all that stand in the way of ignoring the facts and declaring Google the next evil superpower. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5@dienacht:
You have no idea what you're talking about. Just because a trademark enters popular vernacular and becomes ubiquitous doesn't mean anyone can label their product with that name. When's the last time you saw a box of 'Kleenex' not made by Kimberly-Clark (their parent company)? Never, that's when. Trademarks and copyrights are protected in most Western countries to prevent things like this. Band-Aid is a registered trademark also, and nobody makes true Band-Aids but Johnson & Johnson.
The Washington Post article seems really Dvorak-ish, in that it seeks to inflame but has no basis in reality. That's why Google came back with an equally silly reply. - creiss74, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3People say that through genericide, other companies like MSN or Yahoo could start calling their searches googles, but how much of a problem is it for Xerox and competing photo-copiers or Band Aids and competing bandages?
This will help google more than hurt. - forgetfulca, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Not surprising, and also not relevant. ;>
from kleenex to xerox'ing, the masses get to decide language usage. Google can suggest all they like but I wonder why they bother? They could probably spend their 113 -billion of virtual worth and not change the tide of popular usage.. - karmakanic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4They're just laying down an argument for later re-use. If they didn't object now, then they wouldn't have a leg to stand on if it becomes an issue later. If Yahoo or MSN decided to start using "google" as equivalent to "search" on their site, you can rest assured that Google would try to stop them from doing so. If they didn't object to inappropriate use of their trademark today (when it doesn't really matter), then they'd have a hard time enforcing it later.
Remember back in the 90's when Apple sued Microsoft because it claimed that the Windows Look and Feel was too much like Apples? And then Xerox (the first company to commercialize the window-oriented, mouse-driven user interface) jumped up and tried to enforce their rights as the inventors, only to be rebuffed by the courts for one simple reason: it's too late - you should have done this in 1984 when Macintosh first came out.
It's not like Google is going to try to sue individuals for using "google" as a verb. In fact, I'm pretty sure their marketing people absolutely love it. Google is simply laying the groundwork for future arguments, just in case another commercial entity decides to use the popular vernacular in a way that dilutes the Google brand. - radiofrequency, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7The computer-illiterate, anti-tech dinosaurs writing for trashy, irrelevant publications like the WashPost really should learn to pay some respect to a company that provides them a very valuable service (search on the internet) free of charge.
- clarkmoody, on 10/12/2007, -6/+9I knew this was going to happen as soon as I started hearing people say: 'just Google it.'
This along with xerox, kleenex, linoleum, etc... - Cykaos, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4As xerox has become the word for photocopy and kleenex the word for facial tissue, people no longer associate the name with the actually brand but just the product. Now people make copies on whatever copy machine there is, and buy facial tissues of whatever brand there is. Even if it's brand X it's still kleenex to the consumer which hurts the actual kleenex brand.
- Kev1000000, on 10/12/2007, -10/+12I dont understand why companies would be upset over this. It gives them more exposure and creates brand recognition.
- fatdog789, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3You are forgetting vaseline and band-aid.
- dako, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It's kind of strange here in Mexico (and I guess it's similar in other parts of the world). Besides using Kleenex, Coca (as in CocaCola), KoolAid, etc.. , we also use some words or brands in english as common nouns for those things, even though we have a word for that in spanish, for example "tape", even though there is "cinta". Sometimes even verbs, just by adding the verb ending "ir" "er" or "ar". I don't hear it much, but some people say "parkear", as in parking the car, even if we have "estacionar". Oh well...
- lcohiomatty86, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2excuse me while i grab a coke.... blow my nose with a kleenex... or google something online...
- tkschutt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Sellotape is another one common in the UK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellotape) vs. Scotch Tape in the US (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_Tape). Strange that in Scotland you're more likely to hear the first than the second!
- Kev1000000, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3You honestly think that would happen though? I dont see Apple being forced to change the name of their iPod, and through genericide, Apple has sold millions. I can see where Google is coming from, but I really dont think they have to worry.
- milomilomilo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Kitty litter is a perfect example.
It's become such a generic term that I'm sure most people don't even know there is a brand CALLED "Kitty Litter". - neom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2When I googled washington post, I found this digg post, and dug it...I wonder if someone will find this comment when they googled my name.
..and now, I wait. - PrayerNeeder, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Shmoo is right. When we pull into the gas station, My dad asks, "Do you want a coke? I say yeah, and then he asks what kind? I reply gatorade or dr. pepper or root-beer. between us (and I'd imageine many other people) "coke" is a catch - all phrase that means what "soda" or "pop" means to people elsewhere.
- mparthas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2genericide ? googled that hottie ?
At most, Google was only half-serious. Now the question is whether this article is also a humor piece or washing post actually didn't get that Google was joking ? - sapo916, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3"Hey Dad, can you stop calling my Playstation 'Nintendo'!"
I remember this from the PS1 days. - reknaps, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Nobody mentioned Asiprin/Bayer??
Asiprin USED to be a specific brand of pills. It became so popular and widespread that the parent company lost rights to the word and had to choose a new word for exactly the same product - thus came Bayer.
I think the makers of Aspirin were court ordered to choose a new name. Thats exactly what google wants to avoid. - AndySomnifac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I fail to see how Google can do anything about this, regardless of if they like it or not. No corporation can halt the evolution of language.
Unless they can find a way to force everyone to put a quarter in a jar every time they use the word in question incorrectly. -
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