Band-Aid

Band-Aid

Product type Adhesive bandage/dressing
Owner Johnson & Johnson
Country U.S.
Introduced June 1920 (invention)
Markets Worldwide
Tagline "I am stuck on Band-Aid (brand) 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me!"
Website www.band-aid.com
Microscopic image of a bloodied Band-Aid

Band-Aid is a brand of adhesive bandages distributed by the American pharmaceutical and medical-devices company Johnson & Johnson. Invented in 1920, the brand has become a generic term for adhesive bandages in the United States.

History

The Band-Aid was invented in 1920 by Thomas Anderson and Johnson & Johnson employee Earle Dickson in Highland Park, New Jersey[1] for his wife Josephine, who frequently cut and burned herself while cooking.[2] The prototype allowed her to dress her wounds without assistance. Dickson passed the idea on to his employer, which went on to produce and market the product as the Band-Aid. Dickson had a successful career at Johnson & Johnson, rising to vice president before his retirement in 1957. Perhaps a curiosity, the word "Band" in German means tape.

The original Band-Aids were handmade and not very popular. By 1924, Johnson & Johnson introduced machine-made Band-Aids and began the sale of sterilized Band-Aids in 1939.[3]

In 1951, the first decorative Band-Aids were introduced. They continue to be a commercial success, with such themes as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Oliver & Jenny, Superman, Spider-Man, Hello Kitty, Rocket Power, Rugrats, smiley faces, Barbie, Dora the Explorer, Batman and Duck Dynasty.

In World War II, millions were shipped overseas, helping popularize the product. Since then, Johnson & Johnson currently has estimated a sale of over 100 billion Band-Aids worldwide.[4]

Johnson & Johnson continues to defend the Band-Aid trademark against it being genericized.[5]

Possible generic term

Band-Aid arguably has, over time, become a generic term in the United States, and a generic term cannot function as a trademark; but Johnson & Johnson has registered Band-Aid as a trademark on the Principal Register of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the registration is valid and legal.[6] A registration on the Principal Register does not create ownership rights under the laws of the United States, and a registration may be challenged and removed if the challenger proves as a matter of fact that the alleged trademark has become generic.

To protect the name, their trademark, Johnson & Johnson always refers to its products as "BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages", not just "Band-Aids".

Manufacturing facilities are located in Brazil, China and Denmark.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Historical timeline". hphistory.org. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  2. ↑ "BAND-AID® Brand Heritage". Johnson & Johnson. April 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  3. ↑ "The History of the Band-Aid". Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  4. ↑ "The Story of the Black Band-Aid". Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "Practical Tips on Avoiding Genericide". www.inta.org.
  6. ↑ "Trademark Status & Document Retrieval: BAND-AID". USPTO. May 15, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
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