The idea that one can ‘lose’ a trademark contains a beautiful nugget of irony. Somehow a trademark can become not too big to fail, but too big to be anything but all-encompassing. Here are some of my favorite genericizations (a terrible word resulting from Plasticolor Molded Products v. Ford Motor Company) from the past, and some future predictions.

At one point, Dry Ice was actually trademarked by the Dry Ice Corporation of America (now that’s creative naming). Trademarked in 1925 the term has completely entered the common lexicon and is obviously generic to any high school science student. Dry Ice is just one of many substances that began as a specific product, along with Heroin, Aspirin and Linoleum. It makes sense on some level that a common material, like graphite or rubber, would be a word of common usage and not a brand, even if it was originally manufactured. For things like Velcro and Vaseline we’ll have to wait and see, but they too look like they will be on the way out pretty soon.

Another surprise trademark was the Thermos, originally a trademarked vacuum flask that went generic in 1963. I think that anyone born in the recent generations understands that a thermos is a concept, not a specific thing, just like the Yo-yo and the Zipper (also long-dead trademarks).

Does this cause problems? I see it more as a victory for language. When a new idea pervades our culture so deep that it becomes part of everyday speech, how can we restrict its use? I am very glad that in our legal system there are ways for trademarks to end and for speech to take over. While there may be unhappy marketing executives in our wake, society wins this battle.

So what will happen next? Will all window cleansers be referred to as Windex? Could iPod turn into a term for any portable music player (like the Walkman)? Perhaps the USPTO has become more discerning in its practice, or maybe companies have become more creative. Maybe it is impossible to know now what will be the next Cellophane or Escalator (1859, and seriously, escalator? wow).

I look forward to taking a Sharpie to some Q-tips and stacking them on Styrofoam before I Photoshop them into a hilarious image on my Netbook. Hope I don’t get sued.