Re: Grammar and usage

[Romay Jean Sitze <rositze -at- NMSU -dot- EDU>]

I'm glad you brought this up as I was unaware of this until now.  It would
seem to me that if a term has become so common as to be a household word
(Kleenex being a case in point) that the publicity would offset legal
restrictions in the eyes of the producer.  IMHO, this takes things to the
point of the ridiculous!


Now, we are seeing a strange anomaly: grammatical usage of registered (and
> unregistered) trademarks is dictated by law. Although I completely understand
> the intentions behind this, I find the restrictions being put on writers by
> lawyers to be ludicrous. I can't write, "He wiped his nose with a Kleenex,"
> but must instead say "He wiped his nose with a Kleenex tissue," or worse, "He
> wiped his nose with a Kleenex (TM) tissue." (It may be Kleenex (R) tissue in
> this case: I don't remember.) Some companies have gone further, using
> corporate standards and guidelines to discourage use of their trademarks and
> service marks in specific grammatical constructions (such as in the
> possessive case).

> Comments?

> PJ Rose
> Technical Writing Consultant

> pjrose -at- aol -dot- com
> pjrose -at- eworld -dot- com
> 73511 -dot- 2163 -at- compuserve -dot- com



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                RoMay Sitze                 rositze -at- nmsu -dot- edu

                Practice makes perfect--or perfectly awful.
                It depends on what you practice.

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