genericization
Brand becomes word
Genericization is the process by which a brand name becomes a common word for the general product or service, often losing trademark protection in the process.
Aspirin, escalator, and zipper were once proprietary names that became generic through widespread use.
Companies actively fight genericization—Xerox discourages "xeroxing" for photocopying, and Google objects to "googling" as a synonym for searching online.
Company's product line name
- proprietaryLegally owned, restricted use
- intellectual propertyLegal rights over inventions
- aspirinAcetylsalicylic acid tablet
- escalatorAutomated people-lifting stairs
zipper · thermos · velcro · xerox · band-aid · jacuzzi · dumpster · laundromat
Presence in all places
- prevalenceState of being widespread
- mainstreamDominant cultural current
- household nameWidely recognized person or brand
- commonplaceUnremarkable and frequent
everyday · widespread · familiarity · brand recognition · market saturation · placeholder name
Making things the same
- uniformityState of being identical
- normalizationAdjusting to a standard
- conformityAdherence to norms
- interchangeabilityQuality of being swappable
commodification · fungibility · undifferentiation · one-size-fits-all · mass production · averaging · flattening · convergence
Person lending their name
- common nounGeneral name for things
- lowercaseUncapitalized letter form
- debrandingRemoving identifying logos
- neologismNewly created expression
colloquialism · vernacular · word formation · denominalization · synecdoche
brand
Company's product line name
- proprietaryLegally owned, restricted use
- intellectual propertyLegal rights over inventions
- aspirinAcetylsalicylic acid tablet
escalator · zipper · thermos · velcro · xerox · band-aid · jacuzzi · dumpster · laundromat · heroin
ubiquity
Presence in all places
- prevalenceState of being widespread
- mainstreamDominant cultural current
- household nameWidely recognized person or brand
commonplace · everyday · widespread · familiarity · brand recognition · market saturation · placeholder name
homogenization
Making things the same
- uniformityState of being identical
- normalizationAdjusting to a standard
- conformityAdherence to norms
interchangeability · commodification · fungibility · undifferentiation · one-size-fits-all · mass production · averaging · flattening · convergence
eponym
Person lending their name
- common nounGeneral name for things
- lowercaseUncapitalized letter form
- debrandingRemoving identifying logos
neologism · colloquialism · vernacular · word formation · denominalization · synecdoche
- trademarkstrademark, trademarks, trademark infringement, trademark symbol, registration number
- trademark disputesinfringement, counterfeiting, knockoffs, passing off, cease and desist
- word formationaffixes, affixation, roots, infix, morphemes
general, genre, generosity, generation, generic, generate, generator, generality, generalize