11 Everyday Words You Didn’t Know Were Once Brand Names
Some brands get so popular that their name turns into the everyday word for the thing itself. When that happens, a company can lose the right to its own trademark. It’s called “genericide” — and it happened to all of these.
1Escalator
It was a trademark of the Otis Elevator Company. In 1950, a U.S. ruling found the word had become generic, and Otis lost it.
2Zipper
B.F. Goodrich trademarked “Zipper” in the 1920s for rubber boots with a new kind of fastener. People started calling the fastener itself a zipper, and the name escaped.
3Aspirin
Originally a Bayer trademark. After World War I, Bayer lost the name in several countries, including the U.S. (It’s still a trademark in some places, like Canada.)
4Heroin
Believe it or not, Bayer also trademarked “Heroin” in 1898 and sold it as a cough medicine. It was later banned for obvious reasons.
5Trampoline
The Griswold-Nissen company trademarked “Trampoline” for its bouncing rig. The word became so common it turned generic.
6Yo-yo
The Duncan company held the trademark in the U.S. until a 1965 court decision ruled the word had become generic.
7Thermos
A trademark of Thermos GmbH. A U.S. court ruled in 1963 that “thermos” had become the common word for any vacuum-insulated bottle.
8Kerosene
Canadian geologist Abraham Gesner trademarked the name for his lamp fuel in 1854.
9Linoleum
Inventor Frederick Walton coined the word, but he never trademarked it properly. It’s often cited as the first product name to become generic, in the 1870s.
10Laundromat
It was originally a Westinghouse trademark for its self-service laundry machines.
11Videotape
Ampex, the company that built early video recorders, trademarked “Videotape” before the word went mainstream.
