Trademarked verbs

[nq:1]I noticed that many dictionaries, including the OED, eschew listing "trademarked" verbs such as "hoover," "rollerblade" and "skidoo." Surely, one can not claim proprietary rights to a verb, or can one?[/nq]
Copyright law permits proprietary rights over nouns, e.g. Muzak, Kleenex, Vaseline, etc.and the verbs you cite seem all to have been formed from the nouns.

Don Phillipson

[nq:1]I noticed that many dictionaries, including the OED, eschew listing "trademarked" verbs[/nq]
Do they? You are wrong on all counts ...
[nq:1]such as "hoover,"[/nq]
You are in error:
Hoover
("hu;v@(r)) Also hoover.
a. (With capital initial.) The proprietary name of a make of vacuum cleaner (patented in 1927). b. loosely. (With small initial.) Any vacuum cleaner. Hence a

[nq:1]I noticed that many dictionaries, including the OED, eschew listing "trademarked" verbs such as "hoover," "rollerblade" and "skidoo." Surely, one can not claim proprietary rights to a verb, or can one?[/nq]
No reason why Dictionaries should avoid listing trademarks any more than they should avoid proper nouns where these are worth quoting. The owners of trademarks often have different id

[nq:1]No reason why Dictionaries should avoid listing trademarks any more than they should avoid proper nouns where these are worth ... web search. a.. NEVER modify a mark, for example, through hyphenation, combination or abbreviation, such as: Googliscious, Googlyoogly, GaGooglemania ...>>[/nq]
Of course, if you go to their help site, the first sentence is

Google does not displ

[nq:1]Copyright law permits proprietary rights over nouns, e.g. Muzak, Kleenex, Vaseline, etc.[/nq]
That would be trademark law. And the rights are limited. Pretty much, they don't require you to use them "properly"(1), but they do require the owner to try to convince people to do so.

(1) Unless you do so in commerce in a way that actively leads people into being confused about the so

[nq:1](1) Unless you do so in commerce in a way that actively leads people into being confused about the source of a good or service.[/nq]
I am always uncomfortable using "good" in this way, i.e. as a singular item in an exchange. The plural is of course normal, but I avoid the singular. How do others feel about this? Am I alone?

Redwine
Hamburg

[nq:2]and "skidoo."[/nq]
[nq:1]Three times you are wrong:[/nq]
You have adduced the wrong word. "Ski-doo" or whatever isn't "skidoo" as in "23 ".
[nq:1]skidoo, v. (skI"du;) Also skiddoo. (Orig. uncertain, perh. f. skedaddle v.) 1. intr. To go away, leave, or depart hurriedly. ... Flyaway xi. 80 This elderly, profane woman+used an antique American slang.+ I expected her to come out with

[nq:2]No reason why Dictionaries should avoid listing trademarks any more ... hyphenation, combination or abbreviation, such as: Googliscious, Googlyoogly, GaGooglemania ...>>[/nq]
[nq:1]Of course, if you go to their help site, the first sentence is Google does not display pop-up advertising. http://www.google

[nq:2]Of course, if you go to their help site, the ... headquarters is the"Googleplex". So much for not modifying the mark.[/nq]
[nq:1]Perhaps they're saying that if you do any of those things, it's not a trademark any more, so they don't care ...[/nq]
I think they're signifying they belong to the 'do as we say, don't do as we do' school of moral imperatives.
I've a recollection they i

Evan Kirshenbaum:
[nq:2](1) Unless you do so in commerce in a way that actively leads people into being confused about the source of a good or service.[/nq]
Paul Compton:
[nq:1]I am always uncomfortable using "good" in this way, i.e. as a singular item in an exchange. ... How do others feel about this? Am I alone?[/nq]
I'm also uncomfortable with it; it seems archaic. It mig