Subject:
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Re: 20 Years of TLC's Frustration with "LEGOS"
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Thu, 29 Mar 2001 15:48:19 GMT
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Viewed:
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2287 times
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In lugnet.general, Dave Schuler writes:
> In lugnet.general, Matthew Miller writes:
> Even LEGO, for that matter, can serve as a noun; for instance, one might
> say "I collect LEGO" or "I received LEGO as a birthday gift." It *can* be
> an adjective, but it isn't exclusively so. I understand your point about
> market share below, but I don't think it's conclusive or absolute.
Yes, you could say either of those things, but they wouldn't be accurate
(except insofar as 'Lego' is a noun in the vernacular(1)). There is no
product called "LEGO". To collect LEGO, you would have to start buying
companies. I don't think anyone who isn't a Kristensen(sp?) has ever
received LEGO as a birthday gift. That would like saying "I got Ford for
Christmas!" (Note: not "a Ford", but "Ford".)
> > You can bet that if Ford had such a dominant marketshare that people
> > started calling all cars "fords", they'd be making a big deal about how you
> > should say "Ford automobiles" or "Ford cars" or "Ford trucks" instead.
>
> Even so, they have no objection to consumers saying "I drive a Focus"
> rather than saying "I drive a Ford automobile called Focus (tm)."
And LEGO has no objections to consumers saying "I play with Automatic
Binding Blocks" instead of "LEGO building bricks called Automatic Binding
Blocks".
;)
James
1:And that's what LEGO is fighting a mostly losing battle against. LEGO
*is* used as a noun in common parlance; they're just maintaining that it's
not right to do so. Given that they're the originator (and owner, in a
copyright-legalese sort of way) of the word, they have the right to
determine correct usage.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: 20 Years of TLC's Frustration with "LEGOS"
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| (...) Just as a minor clarification, it's not entirely accurate to say that all trademarks are adjectives. Kia's "Sportage" serves both as a trademark and a noun, insofar as one doesn't say "I'm driving my Kia Sportage sport utility vehicle." It's (...) (24 years ago, 29-Mar-01, to lugnet.general)
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