Quote:
Originally Posted by leebase
That's a weird take. Nobody is saying that calling softdrinks Cokes (common in the South of the US) or tissues "kleenex's" in conversation is something a company is going to worry about.
But -- just because a trademark takes on a generic meaning for the whole category doesn't mean a company has lost it's trademark.
Trademarks don't have a time out. As long as a company is still using the trade mark, it's theirs.
|
Pwalker seemed to assert that the common use of Coke to mean soda/pop/soft drink implied CocaCola was unable to pursue those individuals because the trademark protections had lapsed.
I was just pointing out that companies are generally wiser than to try to enforce usage when there's no explicit attempt to exploit a brand name for another product. And that the lack of them doing so shouldn't be taken as a sign of anything except a smart PR department that corporate actually listens to. Since, as noted, trying to pursue those cases would be a PR nightmare and wouldn't gain them any profit.