E-ink vs e-paper vs eInk vs ePaper

#1

Very minor point here. I’m don’t expect anyone to join me if they don’t want to, but given how I’m not sure how much I like e-ink, the company (and I mean that literally–I really am uncertain if I should like them or not), I shall try to retrain myself to refer to the displays we are all talking about here as the more generic ePaper or e-paper instead of the e-ink brand name when talking about the technology here on the forum.

(I will still of course use e-ink to refer to the E-ink Corporation).

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#2

Yeah, I think it’s like how the word “Xerox” became a common term to mean photocopy- most aren’t aware it’s a trademark, and I wasn’t aware it was one when I posted my solar laptop thread. I was referring to the generic term of e-paper as well.

#3

I was in the same boat as you and didn’t realize e-ink was a brand.

Yep, there are lots of examples of similar things; Xerox is a good one as you point out. Kleenex is another. Sometimes brand names become completely genericized–escalator is an example of a brand name that is now completely generic. However, that is far from happening here. And I don’t think e-ink would allow it to happen.

Since it appears the e-ink corporation might be hindering our goals here with protectionist policies, I am making my super-tiny stand to avoid using the brand name except as appropriate. It also doesn’t hurt that it is more accurate to use the more generic e-paper type terminology.

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