Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 The US Air Force announced it's considering buying iPads to replace paper manuals and other paper need on flights. While they have since corrected the original notice to include Android systems and other tablets, the use of iPad is similar to the way some people use Kleenex for facial tissue, Xerox for copiers, and other trademarked terms becoming generic terms for similar items. With this little slip Apple has started down the slippery slope where they may lose control of their named items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast VCH Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Apple could just rename a device if that became a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Student of Trinity Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I bet Apple has more lawyers than Kleenex did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Actaeon Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I'm a little surprised, as they're not ALL that impressively named. Besides, while I'm given to understand Kleenex was the first, Apple was actually kind of a late entry (unless you count the Newton). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Mea Tulpa Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 The Newton was a PDA, not a tablet. However you define the boundaries those are different things. I'm sure there were attempts at tablet computers in the past, but the iPad sure seems like the first one that actually found a market. Does being first even matter? Google has similar status with its service name and it definitely wasn't the first. Also, this is hardly a bad thing from a business perspective. I can't imagine Kleenex, Xerox, or Google object to their status as household names and even verbs. That said, I really don't see the same thing happening with "iPad". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Actaeon Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I suppose being the first broadly known, successful iteration is rather more important. And I have to agree that, should the masses start using "iPad" to refer to all tablets, Apple will probably view that as brand recognition, so long as no other company publicizes their product as such (you will note that all non-Kleenex brands are actually branded as "facial tissues"). Certainly, iPod has become somewhat generic for MP3 players, so it's not beyond the realm of possibility. I just wish it was something cooler (either a made up word like those Slarty listed or something epic like "Exodus"). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt Necris Omega Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 The new Apple Exodus... There's a "Moses App" joke in here somewhere, but I can't put it together quite yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 Do you mean this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt Necris Omega Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I wasn't thinking in that direction, more of a, "need to ferry an unarmed mass of people across a large body of water but don't have a boat or enough inner-tubes to go around? There's an app for that," angle but... yeah, actually, that'll do nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Actaeon Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 That's where I was going with it, yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotghroth Rhapsody Soul of Wit Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Jony Ive wandered 40 years through the Apple labs... Unfortunately, it's not the coolest name (or even first to market) that becomes the lowercase-b brand name--it's the product that becomes ubiquitous. iPod is just about there. iPad might get there. Corporations do have to defend their brand names, or they will fall into the public domain. For example, aspirin is no longer recognized as a trademark--in the US. Canada still recognizes the trademark of German company Bayer. It's an interesting history, since the proximate cause was Bayer selling the trademark to an American company, due to WWI. Three years later, there was no trademark in the US. It's an amusing diversion to look for lists of trademarks. There's always one that you didn't realize was (ever) a trademark, like dumpster. Sometimes, the lowly spell checker will bring this to your attention. Many are in dispute as to their status as trademarks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Alorael at Large Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Apple's in no danger of losing its copyright. It's defending its iPad just fine. More importantly, unlike a lot of generic products it's the patents that matter far more. Even if there were Apple iPads, Amazon iPads, and a slew of Android iPads by various companies, people would still look up the differences and buy based on rational or irrational tastes. —Alorael, who just doesn't see much to choose from between brands of facial tissue. There's even less among aspirins, except for dosage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Rowen Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Originally Posted By: Actaeon (unless you count the Newton). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotghroth Rhapsody Soul of Wit Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Originally Posted By: things that delight them —Alorael, who just doesn't see much to choose from between brands of facial tissue. There's even less among aspirins, except for dosage. Facial tissues do vary in the softness vs. tensile strength balance. Puffs are gentler on a raw nose, but Kleenex stand up better to a "manly" sneeze. The same balance is recognized for toilet tissue. --Soul, who trusts that someone will correct him if he has, indeed, abused the phrase tensile strength. [/third_person] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Student of Trinity Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 That was a little more information than I needed to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 Originally Posted By: Soul of Wit Originally Posted By: things that delight them —Alorael, who just doesn't see much to choose from between brands of facial tissue. There's even less among aspirins, except for dosage. Facial tissues do vary in the softness vs. tensile strength balance. Puffs are gentler on a raw nose, but Kleenex stand up better to a "manly" sneeze. The same balance is recognized for toilet tissue. --Soul, who trusts that someone will correct him if he has, indeed, abused the phrase tensile strength. [/third_person] It's tensile and shear strength because the force of the sneeze is perpendicular to target material (shear). Also there is grit size at least it's usually referred to it that way in coarseness of toilet paper. The stuff my state university used could double as medium grade sandpaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall The Ratt Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 That sounds like a pain in the butt. Having allergies, I've run into several cheap versions of facial tissues that also remind me of sandpaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast The Mystic Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Originally Posted By: Student of Trinity I bet Apple has more lawyers than Kleenex did. Or Band-aid, or Xerox, or... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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