Google: Fighting the Fate of Kleenex and Xerox?
September 2, 2021
Yep, genericide.
It is hard to imagine anything scaring Google, one of the most powerful tech company’s in the world. There is something that scare Google (other than net neutrality, Internet privacy laws, and breakup of monopolies: genericide. Cracked dives into the meaning of “genericide” and Google’s fears in the article, “Google Has Been Avoiding ‘Genericide,’ The Scariest Word in Trademark Law.” Companies want their products and brands to become household names, but not to the point where their t\trademarked items become permanently associated with an item. Scotch Tape, Kleenex, Q-Tips, and Frisbees are victims of genericide.
Genericide means:
“This term refers to death by becoming generic, causing companies to lose trademark rights when their brand becomes commonly referred to the product or service in general rather than the specific brand itself.”
Google does not want to lose the trademark on their brand name. Google’s heads want people to use Google as a verb, like “I googled that,” but only when they are referring to the Google search engine. If someone were to say “I googled that” when using Bing, it would technically be incorrect. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary includes an entry on “google,” but its lowercased and specifically refers to searching on the Google search engine. Google was so worried about losing their trademark that the term was taken to court:
“This specific control of the trademark has been effective. In 2017, a petition made its way to the Supreme Court that claimed that the term Google had become generic. The Court dismissed this. Google has effectively enforced their trademark to ensure that people are only “Googling” something when they are on Google. Any other web searching is just searching.”
Google may eventually lose its trademark if the term “googling” becomes too generic. The company could also lose its cultural relevancy like other former big names in the game. Or Google may live never lose its trademark like Disney will never lose its copyright on Mickey Mouse.
Whitney Grace, September 2, 2021
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