A mark can become generic through common use as a noun or verb.
The list of marks that have been allowed to become generic (and thus no longer protectable) is long, but examples include Cellophane for plastic film, Dry Ice for solidified carbon dioxide, Kerosene for light fuel oil, and Laundromat for a coin-operated laundry shop.
But proper use builds value, develops broader and stronger legal rights, and protects against the possibility that your company’s mark will lose its distinctiveness and become a generic term, in which case your company could lose its rights to the mark.
When presenting a character, word, or phrase as a mark, at least in text, always use it as an adjective followed by a generic term for the type of goods/services being sold, and be consistent about the generic term used. By presenting a mark as an adjective modifying a generic type of good/service, your company enables its mark to function as intended: distinguishing your company’s version of a generic good/service from a competitor’s version. Using your company’s mark as an adjective (and even reminding customers and the press to do so) also reduces the risk your company’s mark will become the generic term for the type of goods/services with which it is used.
Examples:
- INTELTM microprocessors.
- AMAZONSM online book and music retail services.
Here’s a test for proper use in a sentence: does the sentence still make sense when you remove your mark? If not, you’ve likely used your mark as a noun or verb instead of as an adjective.
Logos and stylized presentations of marks often are presented alone, at the beginning and ends of promotional literature. In this circumstance, it is desirable but not always necessary that the logo be followed by a generic term.
It is perfectly fine if promotional literature sometimes uses a term as a noun to identify the company (e.g., “Ford introduces its new models.”) and at other times as a mark (e.g., “FORDTM F150TM trucks are equipped with ….”), so long as some conspicuous trademark or service mark indicator, such as TM, SM, or ® (as appropriate), is included.
But keep in mind the general precaution that use of a mark as a noun, or even allowing others to do so, can cause your company to lose its rights in the mark. ASPIRIN and ESCALATOR were once marks that became generic because people used the mark to define the generic good. Companies like Xerox have historically taken great pains to remind people to refer to XEROX copiers and not talk of “making a xerox” of, or “xeroxing” a document.
The risk of a mark becoming generic exists even for less well-known marks, so be mindful of how your marks are presented to the world.