The increasing practice of brand owners 'verbing
up' their own marks and in some cases deliberately disrupting
their own logos demonstrates that strong brands can be flexible,
fluid and living.
Under the traditional rule of proper trademark use (also known
as the ACID test), brands must be used:
- as adjectives;
- in a consistent manner;
- with an identification or symbol indicating whether the mark is
registered; and
- in a distinctive or attention-grabbing manner. While this
standard works for many brands, the first two elements –
using brands as adjectives only and in a consistent manner –
are too restrictive when it comes to strong brands.
Beyond adjectives
Recent trademark usage trends suggest that there are ways that
strong or well-known brands can use their marks as a noun or verb
without substantial risk of genericide. A number of companies have
used their key trademarks as verbs in advertising campaigns without
suffering any apparent genericide
