Trademarks

There are a lot of trademarks in English some that are in the dictionary, some trademarks evolve into common words, like Kleenex is a trademark, but, when people go to get a tissue, they often say they need a Kleenex instead of they need a Tissue.

Interesting. Also, there are regional variations in the use of trademarks as common words.

Eg:
1. Ms. Tyler, my Year 2 teacher in Britain, used to say "can my hoovers please pick up the rubbish on the floor?" when she wanted students to clean up after themselves.
2. Many Chinese people say "Mo-tah-lo-lah" when referring to mobile phones because Motorola was formerly the most popular brand of mobile phones in Asia. I don't know whether Motorola or Nokia is more popular now.

Kodak is used for a camera in Spain.

Also, in France we use "frigidaire" or "frigo" to name the fridge, while the correct (seldomely used) word is "Réfregirateur".
Sorry for the double post but I remembered it only afterward. This show how much we have forgotten that is a trademark. ;)

Escalator used to be a trademark and spelled with a capital letter but now it's spelled with a lowercase letter and is not a trademark. Also, Nintendo is a trademark.

FYI: Brand names that have fallen into general use to describe the item (and similar, copycat items) are called "propriety eponyms."

Some common propriety eponyms (in the US):

Band-aid, Astroturf, Xerox, Kleenex, Coke or Cola, Saran Wrap, Jell-O, Kool-aid, Scotch tape, Wite-out, Cellophane, Boogie board, Popsicle, Styrofoam, Post-it note, Legos, Velcro, Thermos, Escalator, Listerine, Hi-Liter, Jeep, Vicks, Alka-Seltzer, Lycra, Spam, Cool Whip, Granola, Gatorade, Tylenol, Aspirin, Valium, Novocaine, Vaseline, Rolodex, Chapstick, Q-Tip, Pop Tart, Walkman, Frisbee, Hula Hoop, Ping Pong, Jacuzzi, Kitty Litter, Levi's, Play-Doh, Skivvies, BVDs, Jockey shorts, Teletype, Polaroid, Fiberglass, Plexiglass, Linoleum, Zipper

Some people even get into the Dictionary! Delia Smith, a cook, is under the name 'Delia' so if someone is cooking one of her recipes, they are said to be 'doing a Delia'! lol :-)

I think I've got myself into a bad habit of calling correction fluid "Tipp-Ex". I can't help it because I stare at the big bold letters "Tipp-Ex" on the white bottle every day. Am I the only one?

And Scotch

Nah A.S.C.M..even in our school planners it says 'Tipp-ex is banned!' lol They're frightened we'll make a mess of the desks!

Hello, British Maria:

Your school rules are very amusing. What's the name of the school you attend? Is it a state or independent school? I hope my school has more rules for decency, considerateness, etc. Many of my classmates, though intelligent, are a pain to behold. You cannot recognise that we are a distinguished school until you read our work.

Well, there's no point anyway in bringing Tipp-Ex to school. My philosophy is that if you make a mistake, you should just cross it out. That makes my essays messy, especially when I have to write them in 20 minutes on Biology exams, but the words are still legible (barely) and the teachers usually don't take off points for bad handwriting unless they absolutely cannot read the words.

I'd call that white-out...even if it wasn't white-out brand correction fluid.

Aye. Calling all correction fluid "Tipp-Ex" or "White-Out" disregardless of brand. Bad habit isn't it? Perhaps we need to reform ourselves.

Still, a victory for the Germans. Fancy, a German trademark that planted itself firmly in the English language! Go Tipp-Ex Korrekturflüssigkeit!

It is called wite-out not white-out, look on the wite-out bottle