Generic trademarks: the importance of brand vigilance

As the fate of the ESCALATOR and LINOLEUM marks show, obtaining a trademark
registration for a brand is only half the battle. Rights owners must then ensure
that the mark does not become a generic designation for similar goods or services
as it will then lose its function and be subject to cancellation. Elizabeth
May of Field Fisher Waterhouse looks at some European decisions and sets out
the actions brand owners can take to save their marks from such a fate.