Don't Say Velcro

The lawyers at VELCRO® Brand would prefer you not to use their company's name. What? Not say the brand name? I think the point they are getting to is that you shouldn't use their name when referring to the same product made by companies other than VELCRO®, although they aren't that clear about it. The actual product should be referred to as "&$# hoop and loop." The company wants to protect their trademark even though they lost the patent 40 years ago.

The singing lawyers make for a funny video, but as for using the brand names as a generic term, that genie left the bottle long ago. Just ask Crock-Pot®, Xerox®, Thermos®, or any of the other brands that became nouns. People are not going to say "&$# hoop and loop," but thanks to this video, they may be more aware of the brand, and that's the real point. (via Metafilter)