Tontine Group what is a commodity market," she said. "In other countries there is no market leader because manufacturers tended to stay in their local areas." As the company is well known, it is referenced in jokes. For example, an Australian legal newsletter said of an alleged swindler who padded his timesheets "that at one stage pillow makers Tontine were said to be interested in sponsoring him." Duvets in Australia are known by the genericized trademark "Doona"; the brand name is owned by the Tontine Group. The brand name was acquired by Tontine in 1991 when Pacific Dunlop took over the Northern
Generic trademark use. Once it has become an appellative, the word cannot be registered any more; this is why companies try hard not to let their trademark become too common, a phenomenon that could otherwise be considered a successful move since it would mean that the company gained an exceptional recognition. Nintendo is an example of a brand that successfully fought trademark erosion, having managed to replace excessive use of its name by the then-neologism game console. Whether or not a mark is popularly identified as genericized, the owner of the mark may still be able to enforce the proprietary rights that