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Don't Say Velcro

www.velcro.com Don't Say Velcro - USA

Our legal team decided to clear a few things up about using the VELCRO® trademark correctly. Don't say "Velcro", say VELCRO® Brand.

There is a discussion on Hacker News, but feel free to comment here as well.

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3 comments
  • 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.)

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  • 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.

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