Sellotape: A Name That ‘Stuck’ Around a Little Longer

Sellotape is a British company that manufactures adhesive tape used for joining, sealing or attaching objects temporarily. The name was derived from the term ‘cellophane’ which was a trademarked term back then, so the manufacturers decided to exchange the ‘C’ with the ‘S’ so as to stave off likeness. The Sellotape company has since been sold to Scapa Group PLC in 1997 and later on to Henkel Consumer Adhesives in 2002.

While the company manufactures a wide variety of adhesive products, the term ‘Sellotape’ has become synonymous to any adhesive tape in the market. The term’s popularity resulted in it being featured in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1980, which is seen as it’s point of genericization. As of now, ‘Sellotape’ is considered a genericized trademark in India alongside the UK, Ireland, Australia, Nigeria, New Zealand, Israel, Serbia, Japan, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Malaysia, Macedonia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.