Thousands of new words are invented each year. Most of these come from science. When scientists discover something new, if they do not have a word for their discovery, they make one up. Words are often made up by big companies for their new products. If a product becomes popular, then everyone will know both the product and the new word. Other companies quickly make similar products. Other companies, however, still cannot print the new word on their products. It is against the law to copy other people's ideas or inventions. We have all listened to a Walkman, haven't we? Maybe not! The company which developed this product, Sony, owns the word "Walkman".
And no other company can print it on the tape machines.
The word "Coke" is also owned by a company. It is the name of a soft drink made by the Coca Cola company. But most people use the word generally for any soft drink. The word "Frisbee" is owned by a company, too.
However, it has become a general word for all similar products. but only one company makes Frisbees.
It may be hard for a new word to become popular, but it is easy to make up one. You can try yourself!
