Everyone knows that Xerox® and Kleenex® are not generic terms, even though many used them generically to refer to a category of products and not a particular brand. But there are many other names that you won’t believe are also registered trademarks and not generic terms.
Believe it or not, these names are not generic [click marks for USPTO records]
- SKINNYJEANS – women’s slimming blue jeans
- HULA-HOOP – plastic toy hoops
- ONESIES – Infant’s and children’s clothing, namely, infantwear, underwear, bodysuits, underclothes and undergarments
- CROCK-POT – electronic cooking appliances, namely casseroles
- KOOZIE – insulated containers for beverage cans
- SPIN – stationary exercise bicycles; physical fitness instruction
- ROLLERBLADE – boots equipped with longitudinally aligned rollers used for skating and skiing
- FRISBEE – toy flying saucers for toss games
- PING-PONG – bats and rackets of the tennis type for games
- BUBBLE WRAP – Cellular Cushioning Packaging Material which Contains Entrapped Bubbles of Air or Other Gases
- BONUS: CHAPSTICK – non-medicated lip balm
of course, there are more too! (VELCO, X-ACTO KNIFE, POPSICLE, Q-TIPS, ZAMBONI, SKEE-BALL,….)
A woman using a Hula-Hoop. Image via wikimedia commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Folsom_Hula_Hoop.jpg
