{"id":5677,"date":"2018-09-17T14:49:25","date_gmt":"2018-09-17T18:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncjolt.org\/?p=5677"},"modified":"2022-02-25T21:47:03","modified_gmt":"2022-02-25T21:47:03","slug":"hook-loop-got","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/blogs\/hook-loop-got\/","title":{"rendered":"Hook and Loop, Got it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The next time you shop for shoes, look for a tool to hang picture frames, or try to keep loose cables tied up, #DontSayVelcro<\/a>. These days, the <\/span>VELCRO\u00ae Brand means business. Just a year ago the company released a<\/span> website<\/a> and colorful advertisement<\/a> but has also continued to educate the general public on the consequential damages of \u201cgenericide.\u201d<\/span> While this might be a ridiculous avenue, it\u2019s clearly working to grab the attention of consumers like myself who are contributing to the destruction of this trademark. <\/span>
\nThe fight against \u201cgenericide\u201d sounds like an organization going after a disease, which isn\u2019t far off from the problem at hand. This malapropism<\/a> created by the success of the company could lead to the ironic death of the trademark. For example, these other successful companies have lost their trademark and may not be recognized because their products are common in today\u2019s vocabulary: aspirin, escalator, laundromat, and thermos.<\/a> \u201cGenericide\u201d<\/a> is a legal term that captures the process of a protectible trademark transitioning into a common noun through popular usage. Moreover, it turns the trademark generic (and not protectable) by coming to stand for the product itself and confusing consumers as to the source.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTrademarking does not protect the right to reproduce a logo. A Trademark protects [the] investment in a relationship with [the] customers.\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When a company goes to trademark their product, it\u2019s important that they provide a mark that is less descriptive of the product and more arbitrary. A descriptive trademark that describes the product will have to acquire distinctiveness through what is known in the business as \u201csecondary meaning.\u201d This hurdle requires consumers to recognize that the trademark links the product to a source, which requires time and money to advertise the products for a period long enough to gain consumer recognition. However, once a trademark is granted it is up to the company through their lawyers, advertisements, and employees to keep their trademark from becoming generic and thus at loss. <\/span>
\n In the case of VELCRO\u00ae, the company seeks to protect its 300 trademarked products from becoming generic as consumers tend to misuse the word \u201cVelcro\u201d as both a verb and in description of various products not made by the company. Instead a VELCRO\u00ae product is called a \u201cHook and Loop.\u201d An example<\/a> from their website demonstrates the ease of this mistake: <\/span><\/p>\n