Trademarks and SPAM® Luncheon Meat
Rob correctly points out in the comments (they
work!) that I used the term Spam loosely -- I capitalized it, to let folks know
it's a title, but I didn't use Hormel's preferred style: SPAM® luncheon
meat. Screw 'em! I'll call it Spam if I
want.
Trademark law is such that if
folks start using the term to refer to a generic class of object, the made-up
word can lose its trademark status. If that happened to Spam, for example, we'd
see Hormel Spam, Farmer John Spam, John Elway Spam, or whatever. Lots of
trademarks have expired this way -- aspirin, cellophane, escalator, nylon,
thermos... All used to be
trademarks.
Several others are
essentially lost, though the trademark owners still pretend they have special
meaning. Kleenex brand facial tissue, Dumpster brand trash bins, Xerox brand
copiers, Google brand web searches, linoleum, cyclone fence,
laundromat...
It's our right and
obligation as consumers to take these words and use them as we will. Until
Hormel pays me to sign a contract to use Spam their way, I'm free to do what I
want -- as long as I don't make my own Joe brand Spam that causes consumer
confusion.
Filed Sun - May 21, 2006, 03:50 PM in
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