Acetylsalicylic acid – The active compound in aspirin.
If you think that “aspirin” is a generic word, devoid of any trademark protection, think again.
The poster boy for trademark death by genericide, aspirin isn’t a registered trademark in the US – at least, not on its own.
In Germany, however, that’s another story. Aspirin has been a registered trademark since 1999, although the Bayer mark is for an interesting class:
(31) Natural plants and flowers, in particular roses and rose plants; reproduction of plants.
When it comes down to domain names and the UDRP process, the locale of an existing trademark is of no importance, and the owner of the domain Aspirin.me recently found out.
Bayer AG filed the UDRP at the WIPO and while the case is currently pending, we can analyze the domain owner’s lack of trademark understanding, by perusing a “for sale” listing and a Flippa auction for Aspirin.me.
Said the seller:
aspirin.me provides an excellent opportunity to establish a top brand, easy to remember, short, relevant, catchy keyword-TLD match.
There is no current trademark on the Aspirin. NO Trademark protection in US France or UK.
Of course, the trademark for aspirin does exist – in Germany – and the UDRP case should be interesting to watch. The domain’s owner changed the WHOIS information to some bogus info in May, apparently after receiving a C&D from Bayer AG.
Moral of the story: trademark protection extends well beyond the US and the UK, and aspirin is still a trademark in Germany.
Gotta do yo’ research, folks.
They created Heroin and Asprin within one week of each other, it was considered the softer option for pain relief