Apple Inc.'s iPad has dominated the tablet category. Now, when many consumers think of tablets, they only think of the iPad. Below is a list of other brand names that have become so popular that they've joined the world of common nouns. Some of the brands became so generic that they lost their trademarks.
SORRY, YOU LOSE:
Aspirin — Bayer AG lost the trademark in 1921
Heroin — Bayer AG lost the trademark in 1919
Escalator — Otis Elevator Co. lost the trademark in 1950
Thermos — Thermos LLC lost the trademark in 1963
Yo-yo — Duncan lost the trademark in 1965
Zipper— B.F. Goodrich lost the trademark in the 1920s.
STILL HANGING ON:
Band-Aid — Trademarked by Johnson & Johnson
Kleenex — Trademarked by Kimberly-Clark
Jell-O — Trademarked by Kraft
Xerox — Trademarked by Xerox Corp.
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