Brian A. Thomas .com

Aspirin, as you may know, once was a trademarked name. Actually, in many countries it still is. This leads to the question of what exactly does one call Aspirin? From the all knowing Wikipedia entry on Aspirin:

In countries in which Aspirin remains a trademark, the initialism ASA (for acetylsalicylic acid) is used as a generic term (ASS in German-language countries, for Acetylsalicylsäure; AAS in Spanish- and Portuguese-language countries, for ácido acetilsalicílico and in French-language countries, for acide acétylsalicylique).

While it is a genericized trademark here in the US, Canada and many Eurpean countries apparently still recognize it as a protected trade name.
There is a list of generic and genericized trademarks over at the Wikipedia that is an interesting read. Aspirin falls under the category of “List of trademarks often used generically,” and notes that “However, none of these marks should be regarded as legally abandoned or in the public domain.” Other notable entries there, Band-Aid, Beer Nuts (never knew that one), Dumpster (never knew that one either), Frisbee, Heroin (never knew that one… which would lead to the question, if it isn’t actually Heroin name brand you are using, are you a Heroin addict? Unless there is no off brand versions, of course then why would it be on the list if there weren’t), Kleenex (a big one I used to see in my writing magazines as they tried to protect their name), and lots of others, many I knew, quite a few others like, Wind Breaker, that I didn’t know was protected. Perhaps a good list to keep around if you are writing stuff. Before using the list as a final word though, be sure to read the discussion on the list.

Tags: General