Apple's iPad might become a generic Brand.

[madhur]

The iPad hasn't been around for too long but it's already difficult to imagine life without it. It's hard to imagine it started selling just about two years back. Now it's already a household name and according to a study done by Mae Anderson, the iPad is about the become a generic name.

 

Apple's iPad, is on its way to join Brands such as - Xerox, Band-Aid, Aspirin etc who have undergone Genericization. Apple has done it before with the iPod and now for the vast majority of people a tablet is synonymous with the iPad. This isn't a surprise nonetheless, as the iPad gave birth to the tablet industry. Genericization happens rarely, as a matter of fact only 5 percent of U.S. brand names become generic. The brands that do become generic, achieve higher sales, market share, and an unique place in the mind of their consumers.

 

Some people argue that the Genericization of a Brand may not necessarily be a good thing. Generic brands have often lost their trademark as a result of their Genericization. This can result in any company, using the name to market a product. This has happen enough in the past, the cast a worry. Drug maker Bayer lost trademarks for the names "aspirin" and "heroin" this way in the 1920s. So did B.F. Goodrich, which sued to protect its trademark of "zipper" in the 1920s after the name joined the world of common nouns. Similar cases deemed "escalator" generic in 1950, "thermos" generic in 1963 and "yo-yo" generic in 1965.

 

There are some company's who have escaped loosing their trademarks. Xerox is the best example of this. While people often use Xerox generically, The company still hasn't lost its trademark. I strongly feel that Apple's iPad will see similar fate, especially when you consider the fact that Apple's iPod went through Genericization without losing its Trademark. I think Apple's iPad will do just fine - Generic or Not.

 

Via All Things Apple