Distinctiveness

Today’s Legal Word of the Day is “genericide,” from trademark law. Genericide has been in the news recently because of Arizona resident David Elliott’s lawsuit to cancel two of Google’s trademark registrations for the term “GOOGLE” (Reg. Nos. 2,806,075 and 2,884,502). Black’s Law Dictionary (8th Ed.) defines “genericide” as: “The loss or cancellation of a trademark that no longer distinguishes the owner’s product from others’ products.”