Timeline for What's the British equivalent of American "Formica" for faux wood?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
9 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jun 7, 2014 at 19:54 | comment | added | Jon Hanna | @JimMack ah, I did actually intend to point out that it had nothing to do with ants when I started writing this answer. | |
| Jun 7, 2014 at 18:25 | comment | added | Jim Mack | >>-- and comes from it being used in roles where people were often using mica; hence it is used "for mica".<< Huh. I thought it was just made of ants. | |
| Jun 7, 2014 at 17:07 | comment | added | Jon Hanna | @EdwinAshworth oh, I certainly agree that any use of a genericised trademark is legally risky in certain cases, and your comment is well-made. It does though also remain a fact that it happens, and that this affects how people use the language. | |
| Jun 7, 2014 at 17:04 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | The Biro company threatened to sue someone who didn't use the capital B. I'm trying to save people money here; I'd put English advice in an 'Answer'. | |
| Jun 7, 2014 at 17:01 | comment | added | Jon Hanna | @EdwinAshworth context still applies. They really aren't going to stop someone calling their table formica when it's actually consoweld. They certainly can stop someone selling said table from calling it that. | |
| Jun 7, 2014 at 16:53 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | The Formica people won a court case specifically prohibiting the use of the name for other products. | |
| Jun 7, 2014 at 16:46 | comment | added | Jon Hanna | @EdwinAshworth depends on the context. If it turns out I actually bought some consoweld in 2011, I'm probably not going to get sued. If it was but it had said formica in the product description, then the vendor might. | |
| Jun 7, 2014 at 16:39 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | 'It's had a bit of the genericised trademark effect, in that people will use the word to refer to similar laminates too, as well as for Formica®.' They may be inviting legal action. In spite of this article | |
| Jun 7, 2014 at 16:04 | history | answered | Jon Hanna | CC BY-SA 3.0 |