Lexicalisation et banalisation des noms de marque : le cas juridique de Placoplatre® et Placo®

Pursuing the idea that truncation is a reliable clue of the degree of penetration of a brand name in the common language, and indeed of its success its name being known enough as well as recognized to be able to undergo in the language exchange a cut which does not prevent from the good understanding between the speaker and his interlocutor, we can then take into consideration, against all odds, the fact that the name of the brand in its truncated form may become detrimental to the name of the original brand, under its non-truncated shape. This is what we observe with the brand Placoplatre®, so victim of its success, in its truncated form, that legal consequences promptly led the company Placoplatre to register the new brand name: Placo®. Thanks to the information graciously provided to us by Placoplatre General Counsel, we can consider here the case of Placoplatre® and Placo® in four perfectly complementary angles: the marketing aspect (sections 1 and 2), the historical aspect indissociable from the linguistic phenomenon (section 3) and the legal aspect (Section 4).