this post was submitted on 29 Dec 2023
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[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I'm always amused by shitty corporate attempts to boss people around on language usage. They're bound to fail, even if you screech "noo! muh traremurrk!" nonstop.

Although... this is smelling a bit like advertisement disguised as "brand awareness". If that's correct the HN OP is biting the bait.

Is this a uniquely US thing?

Among Portuguese speakers in my chunk of Brazil I've seen at the least the following genericised brands:

  • nescau [nes.'käʊ̯]- for any milk chocolate. Even from brands not associated with child slavery, like Nestlé.
  • todinho [tɔ.'dʒi.ɲo] - same as above, with another brand. And now I'm joining the majority who doesn't remember how to spell this brand. (I think that it uses "ddy" instead of "di"?)
  • xerox [ʃe.'ɾɔks] - photocopy; highly productive, you'll also see "xerocar" (verb; to photocopy), "xerocaria" (noun; an establishment where you can photocopy stuff, often found near universities), even "xerocável" (adjective: something that can be easily photocopied, e.g. soft books)
  • bombril [bõ.'bɾiʊ̯] - steel wool, specially the cheaper ones.
  • sapólio [sä.'pɔ.ʎo] - any heavy duty liquid soap.
  • veja ['ve.ʒɐ] - any ammonium-based cleaning agent. The name is the same as a conservative magazine, but that's a coincidence.
  • q-boa [ki.'bo.ɐ] - bleach

(Pronunciation for reference, it might vary quite a bit depending on individual. For example I tend to use [ks] for "xerox", but plenty people add an epenthetic vowel to it.)

[–] BT_7274 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Watched the video just out of curiosity. The one thing they failed to mention is why we should care if they lose their trademark. That sounds like a them problem.

[–] plenipotentprotogod 2 points 11 months ago

I believe that, legally speaking, a company making a public effort to maintain their trademark counts for a lot. The company that makes Velco may not care at all whether this video convinces anyone to actually change their behavior. It exists so that they can hold it up in court and say "look, we have been putting real time and money into defending this thing, therefore we should be allowed to keep it."