Many brands became generic (escalator, zipper, dynamite, cellophane) and although a sign of sucess, it is the most dangerous way to flatter oneself. Brand owners had lost control. What to do to prevent this? There should be prevention of internal/ external misuse of TMs; if you fail: it will have more future value she warned. What to do to keep control? Identify different channels (dictionnaries, consumers, etc) and prioritize (most strategic TM's and markets, usually where bigger sales and exposure). To prevent Internal misuse: you must train and educate employees. To prevent external misuse : she recommended online monitoring, outside counsels, investigators, employees. Such uses are usually unintended so it is enough to send a kind letter under TM coordinator, whereas when done in bad faith by competitors who use TETRA, BRIK, one must file oppositons to request withdrawal and send C&D letters. As last tips, she mentioned being proactive with Marking standard (logos cleverly called " Protects what's good" on the side and bottom of packages), user guidelines on website and what they consider to be "fair use" or not.

(Finale of the session coming soon in a Blog near you)