May 13, 2016
Velcro™ strips - markertek.com
Today marks the day back in 1958 when Velcro was trademarked.
According to Wikipedia, Velcro™ is the brainchild of Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral who in 1941 went for a walk in the woods and wondered if the burrs that clung to his trousers — and dog — could be turned into something useful.The original patented hook and loop fastener was invented in 1948 by de Mestral, who patented it in 1955 and subsequently refined and developed its practical manufacture until its commercial introduction in the late 1950s.
De Mestral developed a fastener that consisted of two components: a lineal fabric strip with tiny hooks that could "mate" with another fabric strip with smaller loops, attaching temporarily, until pulled apart. Initially made of cotton, which proved impractical, the fastener was eventually constructed with nylon and polyester.
De Mestral gave the name Velcro™, a portmanteau of the French words velours ("velvet"), and crochet ("hook"), to his invention.
Humphrey Cripps began investing in Velcro™ in the 1960s. In 2009, the company was taken private by a private equity firm linked to the Cripps family.
In 1958, de Mestral filed for a patent application for his hook-and-loop fastener in Switzerland, which was granted in 1961. The term Velcro™ is a registered trademark of Velcro Industries B.V.
To reduce the risk of the Velcro™ name becoming a generic term and thereby losing the distinctiveness necessary to maintain its trademark protection, the company claims that there is no such thing as “Velcro,” and that the term is a company name not a product name.
Many dictionaries define Velcro™ as being a type of fastener, but generally note that the term is a protected trademark or proprietary name.
Velcro™ Companies provides fastening solutions for a wide array of industries, including consumer packaged goods, transportation, personal care, military, packaging, construction, apparel, and agriculture.[citation needed]
Products of Velcro™ include:
- Textile hook and loop fasteners and closures
- Plastic hooks
- Self-engaging hook and loop
- Adhesive fastening products
- Converted and fabricated products
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