this post was submitted on 26 Apr 2024
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Nintendo is literally a depressing company right now....

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

The problem stems from the subtle ways in which language develops. It's instinctive for us to pluralise product names in everyday conversation (Oreos, Jet Skis) or turn them into verbs (to photoshop, to tarmac). But by doing so we begin to erode the trademark. Companies can, from the outset, encourage us to use an alternative generic name; sometimes this works (Nintendo pushing the term "games console"), sometimes it almost works (Xerox's fondness for the term "photocopying"), and sometimes it fails miserably (who has ever referred to the once-trademarked trampoline as a "rebound tumbler"?)

Nintendo had to start calling their stuff “game consoles” so their name wouldn’t be genericized to refer to all consoles. Its not always about sueing others. Theres lots of avenues they need to protect and they knew they needed to defend it from the start.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

huh is there a list somewhere by any chance of stuff that lost its trademark because it became too widely used? like trampoline, that's a surprise