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Copyright and trademark are two wholly separate things. The Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a registered trademark on the name and logo for Kleenex. Thus, no one else has a right to use the word "Kleenex" to describe their product. That, however, doesn't stop the consumer from calling all facial tissues "Kleenex." It does stop other companies from referring to their facial tissues as "Kleenex." Take a look at a box of tissue paper that isn't a Kleenex brand. You'll notice that it does not call itself Kleenex but, most likely, "facial tissues."
Consumers are the ones taking companies' trademarks and using them to describe other brands of products. This does not mean that the company is not protecting its trademarks, and Kimberly-Clark has not lost the right to use Kleenex exclusively. This just means that the company has excellent brand recognition. Other brands that have this same level of recognition include Coke, Tylenol, Tupperware, etc.
- -Ben
Tim Thorburn wrote: | Well there's also the small fact that under US copyright law if a | company doesn't enforce its rights over said copyright, they lose the | right to use it exclusively. Take a look at Kleenex - they failed to | take steps to protect their name and now all tissue paper is known as | Kleenex.
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