Samsung appears to be the most recent brand to board the brandverbing bandwagon with its Galaxy Note 4 advertising campaign, asking the critical question: Do You Note?
Samsung has federally-registered in the U.S. the trademark GALAXY NOTE for smart phones, mobile phones, and tablet computers — note the absence of a disclaimer of NOTE, meaning that term is believed to be distinctive, not descriptive or generic for the goods (at least for now):
And, Samsung’s DO YOU NOTE? trademark application publishes for opposition tomorrow.
As you know, we have welcomed the challenge by marketing types to press the edges and not fall into the assumed knee-jerk legal trap when it comes to weighing the true risks of genericide based on the verbing of brands, but if you’re not Google, this recommended reading from our archives — on the subject of trademark verbing and the risk of genericide, is still highly useful:
- Just Verb It? A Legal Perspective on Using Brands As Verbs: Part I
- Just Verb It? Part II: A Legal Perspective on Using Brands As Verbs
- Just Verb It? Part III: Testing the “Slippery Slope” of Using Brands as Verbs
- Managing The Legal Risk of “Verbing Up” Brands and Trademarks
- How Realistic is the Risk of Trademark Genericide?
Who will be the next to jump on the brandverbing bandwagon? How long will the ride last?