To Skype - Genericide 05

Many of my relatives outside Japan, in the States and in countries in Europe, so Skype is now indispensable in our family communication. The application allows people to communicate via Internet on text, on voice or on video, instantly and most importantly, free if it is Skype-to-Skype calls. It is faster and more instantaneous than e-mail correspondence, cheaper than telephone calls, and the video function makes it more informational than other styles of communication.

Skype application was first released in 2003. Its easiness and convenience, and the widespread use of personal computers and the Internet made the application tremendously popular, so popular that the trademark Skype is on the verge of gerericide, another endangered trademark.

Skype brand name guideline clearly forbids the trademark to be used as a generic word; to write it in the lower case, to use it as a verb (Skype legal brand guidelines). Though stipulated, the reality does not follow what is said. On wikiHow, the trademark, though still written with the upper case, is used as a verb. (wikiHow Skype).

- How to Skype
- Skyping your friends, familiy and co-workers...

Here is another evidence of the peril of the trademark Skype. The two famous talk show hosts of the U.S.A., Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres, use the trademark as verbs when they are conversing on Ellen's show (March 20th 2009). Oprah made a big surprise appearance on Ellen's show via Skype.

Ellen : How is this happening? Are you Skyping in? What's happening?
Oprah : Skyping in, that's exactly what I'm doing.

See, 'Skype' is endangered.

This surprise appearance of Oprah was written as an article in The Huffington Post. In the article, it uses the trademark correctly as the guideline stipulates, but incidentally, another endangered trademark 'Photoshop' is used as a verb (Huffington Post Oprah invites Ellen).