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4 votes
Why did "Cellophane" and "Aspirin" lose their trademarks?

a) Ineffective legal representation
b) Genericide
c) Market saturation
d) Lack of public awareness

1 Answer

4 votes

Final answer:

Cellophane and Aspirin lost their trademark protection due to genericide, where the public used these brand names generically, leading to a loss of legal trademark status.

Step-by-step explanation:

The terms Cellophane and Aspirin lost their statuses as trademarks due to a phenomenon known as genericide. Genericide occurs when a trademark becomes so commonly used for a type of product or service that it loses its legal protection as a distinctive brand identifier. Essentially, when the public begins to use the brand name as a generic term for the product at large, the trademark may be challenged and potentially canceled. Both Cellophane and Aspirin became genericized as they were widely used to refer to any transparent film and any analgesic drug with acetylsalicylic acid, respectively, rather than the products of their original manufacturers.

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