As 'iPad' becomes synonymous with 'tablet,' Apple must protect brand

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 74
    bsimpsenbsimpsen Posts: 398member
    The iPod has been out for more than a decade, has market share greater than most expect the iPad to have in eight years and the trademark is still holding. So, why is there no worry over the iPod trademark? Could it be that pundits have collectively lost either intelligence or eyeballs over the last decade and will now grasp at straws?
  • Reply 22 of 74
    stelligentstelligent Posts: 2,680member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Escalator

    Hoover



    I don't think Apple wants to see "iPad" follow the example of "escalator" (not the best chapter in Otis's history).



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hittrj01 View Post


    I agree with your premise, but I don't think Hoover is synonymous with its market. Dirt Devil, Dyson, and Bissel are all very well known as well.



    Dyson, maybe. Bissell - not so much, or you wouldn't have misspelled it
  • Reply 23 of 74
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bsimpsen View Post


    The iPod has been out for more than a decade, has market share greater than most expect the iPad to have in eight years and the trademark is still holding. So, why is there no worry over the iPod trademark? Could it be that pundits have collectively lost either intelligence or eyeballs over the last decade and will now grasp at straws?



    1) There was. People were starting to refer to all PMPs as iPods.



    2) It look Apple a lot longer to get the lion's share of the PMP market than it did for them to get the lion's share of the tablet market.



    3) This is always a concern for a company because they don't want anyone to be able to refer to anything as Coke or as an iPad. You have to fight to keep your Trademark intact but that doesn't mean it's in jeopardy simply because people are using it generically so long as you do your due diligence in protecting it.
  • Reply 24 of 74
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    iPod effect.



    Apple's competitors' laziness and hubris gave away the future of personal computing.



    It's all but the iPad now.



    The iPod effect, iPad style.
  • Reply 25 of 74
    I think there is as much risk of this happening as people using the name iPod when they really meant Zune.
  • Reply 26 of 74
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hittrj01 View Post


    I agree with your premise, but I don't think Hoover is synonymous with its market. Dirt Devil, Dyson, and Bissel are all very well known as well.



    This is regional. There are parts of the country where you 'hoover the carpet'.
  • Reply 27 of 74
    stelligentstelligent Posts: 2,680member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    This is regional. There are parts of the country where you 'hoover the carpet'.



    Perhaps there are parts of the world where you Dirt Devil it ....



    On second thought, nah ...
  • Reply 28 of 74
    stelligentstelligent Posts: 2,680member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ForceQuit View Post


    I think there is as much risk of this happening as people using the name iPod when they really meant Zune.



    There are people who use the name iPod for MP3 players in general, simply because MP3 player is a mouthful and also not easy to remember.
  • Reply 29 of 74
    jbrunijbruni Posts: 29member
    How about "Jacuzzi"? Most people don't know that Jacuzzi is a brand name.



    http://www.jacuzzi.com/
  • Reply 30 of 74
    zandroszandros Posts: 537member
    Kleenex isn't (de facto) genericized?
  • Reply 31 of 74
    isheldonisheldon Posts: 570member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    This is regional. There are parts of the country where you 'hoover the carpet'.



    I've always heard it had sexual connotations myself.
  • Reply 32 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    Exactly. No one says "Let me iPad this before I make a decision", or "Whenever I travel, I iPad all my travel details to my secretary."




    Clue: There is no requirement that a trademark to be used as a verb in order to become generic. None at all.
  • Reply 33 of 74
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Zandros View Post


    Kleenex isn't (de facto) genericized?



    Escalator is the perfect example of a brand name that became generic through public, generic use of the name.
  • Reply 34 of 74
    boredumbboredumb Posts: 1,418member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Escalator

    Hoover



    try "kleenex" and "xerox" (I'm going for the "X" factor here)
  • Reply 35 of 74
    the cool gutthe cool gut Posts: 1,714member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iSheldon View Post


    Everyone says- "Google it."

    No one says "Bing it"

    "Google" is generic for search.





    iPad is synonomous with iPad only- it stands alone. Like the iPod . You ask for either in a store and you get exactly them- not some other tablet or MP3 player.



    Agreed, the article is retarded. Slow news day I suppose.
  • Reply 36 of 74
    bearbear Posts: 27member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hittrj01 View Post


    I agree with your premise, but I don't think Hoover is synonymous with its market. Dirt Devil, Dyson, and Bissel are all very well known as well.



    Hoover has been around from the early 20th century and in some parts of the world, Hoover is synonymous with vacuum.



    The Dirt Devil brand is from the 1980s.

    Dyson was founded in 1992.

    Bissell while older than Hoover was actually better known for its carpet sweepers.

    As it stands, my next vacuum is likely to be an Oreck (founded 1963).



    So all in all Hoover really has had the longest to really become synonymous with vacuums.



    As for "iPad", if Apple starts now, they can keep it from becoming synonymous with "Tablet", but they do need to be proactive about it.
  • Reply 37 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    This is regional. There are parts of the country where you 'hoover the carpet'.



    and in that region, after i finish up hoovering, I go fishing, taking my thermos with my hot tea...
  • Reply 38 of 74
    davemcm76davemcm76 Posts: 268member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bear View Post


    Hoover has been around from the early 20th century and in some parts of the world, Hoover is synonymous with vacuum.



    I think this is certainly true here in the UK.... all of my family and probably most people I know refer to vacuuming as "hoovering"...



    I say it all the time myself - "need to do the hoovering", even though I own a Dyson...



    I'm not sure iPad has much of a problem at the moment due to lack of any real competition, but I do know a few people (mainly older less techy people like my aunties / uncles) who refer to any generic mp3 player as an iPod so there is potential for this to become an issue in the future....
  • Reply 39 of 74
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,093member
    But didn't all the iHaters (especially the ones on this forum conveniently being quiet) crucify Apple back in 2010 for using a name that sounded like a hygiene product, to just about every other insult under the sun? Now it's being considered a generic term to describe a tablet?



    Could it be possible that those iHaters simply had zero clue about anything in life? Wow, I'm speechless.



    You know who you are too.
  • Reply 40 of 74
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    Here's a short list of trademarks that have become generic terms.



    Aspirin



    Cellophane



    Dry ice



    Kerosene



    Laundromat



    Videotape



    Bubble Wrap



    Dumpster



    Jeep



    Ping Pong



    Q-tips



    Scotch tape



    Styrofoam



    Tarmac



    Vaseline



    Zipper
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