Brand Names, Registered Trademarks and Service Marks to Capitalize

As proofreaders, we look for issues that both the court reporter and scopist missed. This helps ensure the finished transcript product is as polished as possible.

One of the issues we review is capitalization; so it helps to keep a list of commonly missed capitalizations.

I made an effort to make this list accurate, but I’m human. So if you find an error, it’d be great if you use the Found a Typo or Rule Error? box in the right sidebar (or down below in the mobile view) to let me know about it.

These are some legally protected marks, but they are sometimes used by people in a generic sense. Suggestions to correct to the proper form should be made when proofreading transripts. If it is obviously an incorrect usage with the corrected name, perhaps a [sic]? suggestion might also be warranted.

Your word not listed? Search for trademark applications and registrations at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS)

ACE (elastic bandage/wrap)
Adrenalin (the brand of epinephrine vs adrenaline the hormone)
App Store (registered to Apple Inc.)
Aqua Lung
AstroTurf
Bankers Box
Beer Nuts
Benzedrine
Bluetooth
Bobcat (construction equipment)
BODYCAM
Boogie Board
Brillo Pad
Bubble Wrap
Cheerios
Chyron
Cigarette boat
Claymation
Clorox
Coke
Comic-Con
Crock-Pot
Cuisinart
Demerol
Dictaphone
Ditto machine
Dixie cup
Dobro
Dremel tool
Elastoplast
ELMO (common courtroom document projector)
Erector Set
Fig Newtons
Fix-A-Flat
Formica
Freon
Frisbee
Google (google as a verb)
Hacky Sack
Hula Hoop
Intoxylizer
Jacuzzi
Jeep
Jell-O
JumboTron
Kool-Aid
Lexan
Listerine
Levi’s
Life Savers
Lycra
Mace (the chemical weapon)
Magic Eraser
Magic Marker
Memory Stick (flash drive)
Muzak
NOS (both the energy drink and the nitrous system in motor vehicles)
Onesies (bodysuit)
Oreo
Pampers
Ping-Pong
Play-Doh
Plexiglas (the generic equivalent is plexiglass)
Polaroid
Pop-Tarts
Popsicle
Post-it
Post-it Note
PowerPoint
Putt-Putt (miniature & golf are not part of the trademark)
Q-Tip
Realtor
Rollerblade
Roller Derby
Roundup (herbicide)
Saran wrap
Scotch tape
Scrabble
Sea-Doo
Seeing Eye (guide dogs)
Sharpie
Sheetrock
Ski-Doo
Slip ‘N Slide
Slurpee
Softail (motorcycle suspension)
Stetson
Styrofoam
Super Glue
TASER
Teflon
Teva
Tupperware
Tylenol
UNIX
Valium
Vaseline
VISE-GRIP
Walkman
Welcome Wagon
Winnebago
Wite-Out
Xerox (xerox as a verb)
Zamboni
ZIP Code — While still claimed as a trademark by USPS, the registration from 1975 was abandoned in 2005

Former Trademarks Now Genericized in the U.S.

These are more just for fun. As far as proofreading transcripts, it is far more common to see words not capitalized when they should be than words needlessly capitalized.

These terms were trademarked, but have lost their protection in the U.S. by becoming the common name of the relevant product or service. Some marks retain trademark protection in certain countries despite being declared generic in the U.S.

aspirin
band-aid
brassiere
breathalyzer
cellophane
celluloid
chapstick
dry ice
escalator
flip phone
granola
go-kart
gunk
heroin
hovercraft
jet ski
jungle gym
kerosene
kleenex
lanolin
laundromat
linoleum
mimeograph
pogo stick
shredded wheat
speedo
stainless steel
tabloid
teleprompter
thermos
trampoline
velcro
videotape
yo-yo

Former Trademarks That Lost Protection for Reasons Other Than Genericization

These are former trademarks that have become generic terms due to reasons other than public adoption. They were originally legally protected, but have lost legal protection as trademarks due to abandonment, non-renewal, or improper issuance (the generic term predated the registration).

app — the trademark for App claimed by Apple, Inc.; canceled.
dumpster — the trademark Dumpster was canceled by Dempster Brothers, Inc. in 2015.
touch-tone — AT&T canceled the Touch-Tone registration in 1984
zipper — the word Zipper was originally a trademark of B.F. Goodrich for use in rubber boots.

Do you have some to add? Let me know in the comments.