Trademarks do not protect generic Terms

In the Philippines, you can’t register a generic term as a trademark. Generic words are simply the names of products or services themselves. They don’t tell consumers who made the product—they just describe what the product is.

Take the word “cereal” as an example. Any company can make cereal, and all of them have the right to call their product “cereal.” If one business were allowed to trademark that word, no other company could use it to describe its product, which would be unfair. That’s why the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) excludes generic marks from trademark protection under the Intellectual Property Code (RA 8293).

Generic vs. Descriptive Marks

Not all “weak” marks are the same. There’s an important difference between generic and descriptive terms:

• Generic marks: These are the common names of products or services, like “toothpaste” or “accounting firm.” No one can own them because they describe a whole category.
• Descriptive marks: These describe a feature or quality of the product, like “Creamy” for milk. Normally, they can’t be registered either—unless over time people start to associate that word with a specific brand. This is what’s called acquired distinctiveness or secondary meaning.

So, while “Accounting Firm” could never be registered as a trademark in the Philippines, a descriptive word like “Speedy” for a courier company might eventually qualify if the public strongly associates “Speedy” with that one business.

How Trademarks Become Generic

Here’s the ironic part: a strong trademark can eventually become generic if the public starts using it as the common name for the product instead of the brand.

Globally, some famous trademarks that became generic are:

• Aspirin (originally Bayer’s brand)
• Yo-Yo (once owned by Duncan Toys)
• Cellophane (lost by DuPont)

The same danger exists in the Philippines. Once consumers use a brand name as the everyday word for a type of product, the trademark can lose its legal protection. In fact, Philippine courts have looked at distinctiveness in cases like Philips Export B.V. v. Court of Appeals (G.R. No. 96161, 1992), where the issue was whether a mark still served as a source identifier or had slipped into generic use.

Another well-known example is Xerox. The company had to actively campaign to remind people to say “photocopy” instead of “Xerox” as a verb, to avoid losing its trademark.

How to Stop Your Trademark From Becoming Generic

Once a trademark becomes generic, there’s usually no way back. That’s why owners need to be proactive. Some practical steps include:

1. Always pair the brand with the product name. For example, say “APPLE® computers” instead of just “Apple.”
2. Don’t let your brand be used as a verb or noun. Instead of “Let’s Xerox this,” encourage “Let’s make a photocopy.”
3. Use proper notices. Always include ™ or ® and make your mark stand out in print and ads.
4. Avoid spelling variations or nicknames. Allowing shortened forms or altered spellings makes it easier for the public to misuse your brand.

One classic case is Thermos. The company tried hard to educate people to say “vacuum flask,” but once “thermos” became the common term, there was little it could do.

Legal Remedies in the Philippines

If you’re accused of infringing a trademark that’s already become generic, you may argue in your defense that the mark no longer serves as a brand name. Conversely, if you believe a registered mark has turned generic, you can file a cancellation case with IPOPHL’s Bureau of Legal Affairs (BLA).

In fact, many Philippine opposition and cancellation cases hinge on this very issue—whether the public still recognizes a mark as identifying a single source, or whether it has become just another common word.

✅ In short: you can’t trademark a generic term in the Philippines, and even valid trademarks can lose their protection if they become generic. This is why smart trademark owners work hard to control how their brand is used in the market.

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