Legal Definitions - generic

Generic, in trademark law, refers to a word, phrase, or symbol that describes an entire category or type of product or service, rather than distinguishing a specific brand from its competitors.

Because generic terms simply name a product or service category, they cannot be protected as trademarks. The fundamental purpose of a trademark is to help consumers identify the source of goods or services in the marketplace. If a term is generic, it fails to perform this essential function, as it refers to the product itself, not to a particular company's version of it.

Sometimes, a term that was once a valid trademark can become generic over time if the public begins to use it to refer to the entire class of products, regardless of the original brand. This process is known as genericide.

• Example 1: "Smartphone"

  The term "smartphone" is used universally to describe a type of mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities, internet connectivity, and a touchscreen interface. No single company, like Apple or Samsung, can claim trademark rights over the word "smartphone" itself. This is because "smartphone" identifies the category of device, not a specific brand's offering. Consumers understand it to mean any device fitting that description, regardless of who manufactured it.

• Example 2: "Car Wash"

  When someone says they are going to get a "car wash," they are referring to the service of cleaning a vehicle. This term describes the type of service provided, not a particular business that offers it. Therefore, no individual business can trademark "Car Wash" to exclusively identify their specific establishment. They might trademark a unique name like "Sparkle Clean Car Wash," but the generic term "car wash" remains free for anyone to use to describe the service.

• Example 3: "Aspirin"

  Originally, "Aspirin" was a trademark owned by the German company Bayer for its brand of acetylsalicylic acid. However, over many years, the public began to use "aspirin" to refer to any pain-relieving medication containing acetylsalicylic acid, regardless of the manufacturer. This widespread generic use led to the term losing its trademark protection in many countries, including the United States. Now, "aspirin" is a generic term for the drug itself, demonstrating how a once-protected brand name can become generic through public usage (genericide).