The Problem of Genericide in Trademarks article by Michelle Fabio quotes Mark McKenna in Legalzoom, September 2012.

University of Notre Dame Law Professor Mark P. McKenna notes that leading up to the Google lawsuit, there have been “a few cases [regarding genericide], but most of them are quite old, and courts tend to be very reluctant to declare that a mark has become generic.”

The risk of genericide for the everyday trademark owner is likely fairly low. It is also “way overstated by trademark owners who want to shut down another use but want to shield themselves from bad public relations of doing so,” according to McKenna.