The Meaning of a Patronymic Prefix

Abstract

The courts have ruled that adding a suffix to a descriptive word will probably not render that word non-descriptive. McCarthy cites the addition of the suffix, “-ize” to a base form, as in Flexitized (collar stays) and Nylonized (nylon-treated fabrics) as examples of a suffix that does not deprive the term of a descriptive connotation (1984: 460). McCarthy does not mention prefixes, but there is no reason to think that prefixes and suffixes do not operate the same way in terms of trademark law. Linguists lump both prefixes and suffixes into the same category, called affixes (which would include infixes, although English does not make use of these). The major question in the following case is whether or not conjoining a prefix found in another company’s proper noun name with a different common noun constitutes a trademark infringement. Of particular interest here is that the prefix in question is, historically at least, a patronym commonly found at the beginning of some Irish and Scottish names.