Linked by Eugenia Loli-Queru on Wed 11th Jun 2003 21:39 UTC
Apple Computer is being sued by The Open Group, the San Francisco company that claims ownership of the Unix trademark, for using the term Unix in conjunction with its Mac OS X operating system without a license. Apple has countersued, asking a judge to declare that the trademark is invalid, because the term Unix has become generic. This legal battle, though separate from SCO's recent claim that Linux uses copyrighted Unix source code, adds further fire to the debate over the custody of Unix--the 30 plus-year old OS originally developed by AT&T.
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In Europe (especially in Greece, and even in UK), we refer to any kind of Coke (including Pepsi or other cheaper brands) as "coca-cola", even if they might not be from Coca-cola. Most people don't care to make the distinction. In this sense, for many people, "Coca-Cola" is a generic name for this kind of drink.
I wouldn't say Coca-cola is generic in Europe, though Coke certainly is in the United Kingdom. I remember having this argument in a shareware authors newsgroup. No matter how hard you argue, or however much evidence you present, getting this past some people is impossible, especially Americans who forget there's a world outside their borders.
Again, Hoover is specific.
No. Hoover is a generic term for vacuum cleaner or vacuuming, in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. It's well documented and has been the subject of several court cases.
As far as I'm concerned, UNIX is a generic term for Unix or Unix like operating systems, including the BSD's and Linux, etcetera. No damn court case is going to change my mind either. Better they start change their certification to something like "Open Unix" and think of ways to propel the certification process than go down the "we can't run a successfull business so we'll screw the IP route."