• pbhj@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    You keep saying it’s generic, but you clearly don’t understand the term as used with trade marks. Generic means it describes a product. So “Step up” couldn’t be used for a stair company as competitors couldn’t then describe “adding a step up to your front door”, or whatever, without risking infringement.

    Genericisation then is when a trade mark becomes used descriptively - dumpster, is a classic example, another is jeep.

    “Demon Hunters” would be generic if the business operation was hunting supernatural beasts and a judge determined that to be a real occupation … a singer/songwriter who called themselves “Solo Artist” would be generic.

    There’s acquired distinctiveness too, which is why “pianoman” could be a trade mark (I’m not sure if it is, probably still not distinctive enough).