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97-698: Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass , used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained without irrigation or trimming, although periodic cleaning is required. Stadiums that are substantially covered and/or at high latitudes often use artificial turf, as they typically lack enough sunlight for photosynthesis and substitutes for solar radiation are prohibitively expensive and energy-intensive. Disadvantages include increased risk of injury especially when used in athletic competition, as well as health and environmental concerns about

194-547: A generic name as soon as a novel pharmaceutical enters the market. For example, aripiprazole , the nonproprietary name for Abilify, was well-documented since its invention. Warfarin , originally introduced as a rat poison , was approved for human use under the brand name Coumadin. Examples of genericization before the modern system of generic drugs include aspirin , introduced to the market in 1897, and heroin , introduced in 1898. Both were originally trademarks of Bayer AG . However, U.S. court rulings in 1918 and 1921 found

291-473: A generic term for the product to be used in descriptive contexts, to avoid inappropriate use of the "house" mark. Such a term is called a generic descriptor and is frequently used immediately after the trademark to provide a description of the product or service. For example, " Kleenex tissues" ("facial tissues" being the generic descriptor) or " Velcro -brand fasteners" for Velcro brand name hook-and-loop fasteners. Another common practice among trademark owners

388-422: A geographical indication for specialty food or drink may be generic, it is not a trademark because it does not serve to identify exclusively a specific commercial enterprise and therefore cannot constitute a genericized trademark. The extension of protection for geographical indications is somewhat controversial. A geographical indication may have been registered as a trademark elsewhere; for example, if "Parma Ham"

485-658: A hybrid of mostly natural and some artificial grass, with these "hybrid pitches" having been implemented across several parts of the United Kingdom and Australia. The first synthetic turf cricket field in the USA was opened in Fremont, California in 2016. The introduction of synthetic surfaces has significantly changed the sport of field hockey . Since being introduced in the 1970s, competitions in western countries are now mostly played on artificial surfaces. This has increased

582-419: A lack of alternative names in common use: as a result, consumers may not realize that the term is a brand name rather than a medical eponym or generic term. Pharmaceutical trade names are somewhat protected from genericization due to the modern practice of assigning nonproprietary names based on a drug's chemical structure. This circumvents the problem of a trademarked name entering common use by providing

679-521: A league survey conducted in 2010. When asked, "Which surface do you think is more likely to shorten your career?", 90% responded artificial turf. When players were asked "Is the Turf versus Grass debate overblown or a real concern" in an anonymous player survey, 83% believe it is a real concern while 12.3% believe it is overblown. Following receiver Odell Beckham Jr. 's injury during Super Bowl LVI , other NFL players started calling for turf to be banned since

776-602: A match played at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in Costa Rica, American national team manager Bob Bradley called on FIFA to "have some courage" and ban artificial surfaces. FIFA designated a star system for artificial turf fields that have undergone a series of tests that examine quality and performance based on a two star system. Recommended two-star fields may be used for FIFA Final Round Competitions as well as for UEFA Europa League and Champions League matches. There are currently 130 FIFA Recommended 2-Star installations in

873-473: A natural grass field, was instead surfaced with FieldTurf upon positive reaction from the Seattle Seahawks when they played on the surface at their temporary home of Husky Stadium during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. This would be the first of a leaguewide trend taking place over the next several seasons that would not only result in teams already using artificial surfaces for their fields switching to

970-483: A result of common use in the marketplace is known as genericization . This process typically occurs over a period of time in which a mark is not used as a trademark (i.e., where it is not used to exclusively identify the products or services of a particular business), where a mark falls into disuse entirely, or where the trademark owner does not enforce its rights through actions for passing off or trademark infringement . One risk factor that may lead to genericization

1067-520: A small minority of courts use the surface. Both infill and non-infill versions are used, and are typically considered medium-fast to fast surfaces under the International Tennis Federation's classification scheme. A distinct form found in tennis is an "artificial clay" surface, which seeks to simulate a clay court by using a very short pile carpet with an infill of the same loose aggregate used for clay courts that rises above

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1164-475: A source of microplastic pollution from laundry machines. Common synthetic fibers include: Specialty synthetic fibers include: Other synthetic materials used in fibers include: Modern fibers that are made from older artificial materials include: Generic trademark A generic trademark , also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym , is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become

1261-527: A spill in the darkroom resulted in Chardonnet's discovery of nitrocellulose as a potential replacement for real silk. Realizing the value of such a discovery, Chardonnet began to develop his new product, which he displayed at the Paris Exhibition of 1889. Chardonnet's material was extremely flammable, and subsequently replaced with other, more stable materials. The first successful process

1358-404: A study at New Mexico State University found that in that environment, water-cooling of artificial turf can demand as much water as natural turf. However, a 2022 study that used real-world data to model a ten-year-life-cycle environmental footprint for a new natural-turf soccer field compared with an artificial-turf field found that the natural-turf field contributed twice as much to global warming as

1455-504: A surface approved by FIFA and UEFA. The latter ordered the 2008 European Champions League final hosted in the same stadium in May 2008 to place on grass, so a temporary natural grass field was installed just for the final. UEFA stressed that artificial turf should only be considered an option where climatic conditions necessitate. One Desso " hybrid grass " product incorporates both natural grass and artificial elements. In June 2009, following

1552-525: A third-generation artificial pitch. In 2018, Sutton United were close to achieving promotion to the Football League and the debate in England about artificial pitches resurfaced again. It was reported that, if Sutton won promotion, they would subsequently be demoted two leagues if they refused to replace their pitch with natural grass. After Harrogate Town 's promotion to the Football League in 2020,

1649-402: A trademark owner may need to take aggressive measures to retain exclusive rights to the trademark. Xerox Corporation attempted to prevent the genericization of its core trademark through an extensive public relations campaign advising consumers to " photocopy " instead of "xerox" documents. The Lego Company has worked to prevent the genericization of its plastic building blocks following

1746-492: Is at risk of being challenged or revoked, unless the trademark owner works sufficiently to correct and prevent such broad use. Trademark owners can inadvertently contribute to genericization by failing to provide an alternative generic name for their product or service or using the trademark in similar fashion to generic terms . In one example, the Otis Elevator Company 's trademark of the word " escalator "

1843-641: Is no longer possible to legally enforce rights in relation to the mark, the mark may have become generic. In many legal systems (e.g., in the United States but not in Germany ) a generic mark forms part of the public domain and can be commercially exploited by anyone. Nevertheless, there exists the possibility of a trademark becoming a revocable generic term in German (and European) trademark law. The process by which trademark rights are diminished or lost as

1940-400: Is problematic for areas which cannot afford to build an extra artificial field for hockey alone. The International Hockey Federation and manufacturers are driving research in order to produce new fields that will be suitable for a variety of sports. The use of artificial turf in conjunction with changes in the game's rules (e.g., the removal of offside, introduction of rolling substitutes and

2037-418: Is the use of a trademark as a verb , plural or possessive , unless the mark itself is possessive or plural (e.g., "Friendly's" restaurants). However, in highly inflected languages, a tradename may have to carry case endings in usage. An example is Finnish , where " Microsoftin " is the genitive case and " Facebookista " is the elative case . Generic use of a trademark presents an inherent risk to

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2134-405: Is to follow their trademark with the word brand to help define the word as a trademark. Johnson & Johnson changed the lyrics of their Band-Aid television commercial jingle from, "I am stuck on Band-Aids, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me" to "I am stuck on Band-Aid brand , 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me." Google has gone to lengths to prevent this process, discouraging publications from using

2231-557: Is why companies try hard not to let their trademark become too common, a phenomenon that could otherwise be considered a successful move since it would mean that the company gained an exceptional recognition. An example of trademark erosion is the verb "to hoover" (used with the meaning of "vacuum cleaning"), which originated from the Hoover company brand name. Nintendo is an example of a brand that successfully fought trademark erosion, having managed to replace excessive use of its name with

2328-710: The Houston Astros ' home opener in April 1966 ; the outfield was installed in early summer during an extended Astros road trip and first used after the All-Star Break in July. The use of AstroTurf and similar surfaces became widespread in the U.S. and Canada in the early 1970s, installed in both indoor and outdoor stadiums used for baseball and football . More than 11,000 artificial turf playing fields have been installed nationally. More than 1,200 were installed in

2425-728: The North Carolina State University College of Textiles, headed the team of Research Triangle Park researchers who created the first notable artificial turf. That accomplishment led Sports Illustrated to declare Chaney as the man "responsible for indoor major league baseball and millions of welcome mats." Artificial turf was first installed in 1964 on a recreation area at the Moses Brown School in Providence , Rhode Island . The material came to public prominence in 1966, when AstroTurf

2522-542: The Ottawa Renegades used when they began play in 2002 . The Saskatchewan Roughriders ' Taylor Field was the only major professional sports venue in North America to use a second-generation artificial playing surface, Omniturf , which was used from 1988 to 2000, followed by AstroTurf from 2000 to 2007 and FieldTurf from 2007 to its 2016 closure. Some cricket pitches are made of synthetic grass or of

2619-479: The generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or services , usually against the intentions of the trademark's owner. A trademark is prone to genericization, or "genericide", when a brand name acquires substantial market dominance or mind share , becoming so widely used for similar products or services that it is no longer associated with the trademark owner, e.g., linoleum , bubble wrap , thermos , taser . A trademark thus popularized

2716-559: The 1990s, the Parma consortium successfully sued the Asda supermarket chain to prevent it using the description "Parma ham" on prosciutto produced in Parma but sliced outside the Parma region. The European Court ruled that pre-packaged ham must be produced, sliced, and packaged in Parma in order to be labeled for sale as "Parma ham". A trademark is said to fall somewhere along a scale from being " distinctive " to "generic" (used primarily as

2813-536: The 2005–06 season, approved artificial surfaces were to be permitted in their competitions. A full international fixture for the 2008 European Championships was played on 17 October 2007 between England and Russia on an artificial surface, which was installed to counteract adverse weather conditions, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. It was one of the first full international games to be played on such

2910-605: The English league. They soon became a national joke: the ball pinged round like it was made of rubber, the players kept losing their footing, and anyone who fell over risked carpet burns. Unsurprisingly, fans complained that the football was awful to watch and, one by one, the clubs returned to natural grass. In the 1990s, many North American soccer clubs also removed their artificial surfaces and re-installed grass, while others moved to new stadiums with state-of-the-art grass surfaces that were designed to withstand cold temperatures where

3007-575: The International General Electric company. It was also produced by British chemists working at the Calico Printers' Association , John Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dickson, in 1941. They produced and patented one of the first polyester fibers which they named Terylene , also known as Dacron , equal to or surpassing nylon in toughness and resilience. ICI and DuPont went on to produce their own versions of

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3104-468: The Internet". The Swedish Language Council received a complaint from Google for its inclusion of ogooglebar (meaning 'ungoogleable') on its list of new Swedish words from 2012. The Language Council chose to remove the word to avoid a legal process, but in return wrote that "[w]e decide together which words should be and how they are defined, used and spelled". Where a trademark is used generically,

3201-767: The Stadion Salzburg Wals-Siezenheim in Salzburg, Austria which had matches played on it in UEFA Euro 2008. It is the second FIFA 2 Star approved artificial turf in a European domestic top flight, after Dutch club Heracles Almelo received the FIFA certificate in August 2005. The tests were approved. FIFA originally launched its FIFA Quality Concept in February 2001. UEFA announced that starting from

3298-642: The U.S. in 2013 alone, according to the industry group the Synthetic Turf Council. Artificial turf was first used in Major League Baseball in the Houston Astrodome in 1966, replacing the grass field used when the stadium opened a year earlier. Even though the grass was specifically bred for indoor use, the dome's semi-transparent Lucite ceiling panels, which had been painted white to cut down on glare that bothered

3395-651: The United States continue to use "Legos" as the plural form of "Lego," but competing and interchangeable products, such as those manufactured by Mega Brands , are often referred to simply as building blocks or construction blocks. The company has successfully put legal pressure on the Swedish Academy and the Institute for Language and Folklore to remove the noun lego from their dictionaries. Adobe Inc. has experienced mixed success with preventing

3492-414: The artificial one (largely due to a more resource-intensive construction phase), while finding that the artificial turf would likely cause more pollution of other kinds. It promoted improvements to usual practice such as the substitution of cork for rubber in artificial pitches and more drought-resistant grasses and electric mowing in natural ones. In 2021, a Zurich University of Applied Sciences study for

3589-460: The ball in front of the player they were throwing to, with the certainty that it would travel in a straight line and not be deflected to the right or left. The biggest impact on the game of "turf", as it came to be called, was on the bodies of the players. The artificial surface, which was generally placed over a concrete base, had much less give to it than a traditional dirt and grass field did, which caused more wear-and-tear on knees, ankles, feet, and

3686-401: The carpet fibers. Tennis courts such as Wimbledon are considering using an artificial hybrid grass to replace their natural lawn courts. Such systems incorporate synthetic fibers into natural grass to create a more durable surface on which to play. Such hybrid surfaces are currently used for some association football stadiums, including Wembley Stadium . Synthetic turf can also be used in

3783-482: The chemical firm DuPont in the 1930s. It soon made its debut in the United States as a replacement for silk , just in time for the introduction of rationing during World War II . Its novel use as a material for women's stockings overshadowed more practical uses, such as a replacement for the silk in parachutes and other military uses like ropes . The first polyester fiber was patented in Britain in 1928 by

3880-399: The city of Zurich , using local data on extant pitches, found that, per hour of use, natural turf had the lowest environmental footprint, followed by artificial turf with no infill, and then artificial turf using an infill (e.g. granulated rubber). However, because it could tolerate more hours of use, unfilled artificial turf often had the lowest environmental footprint in practice, by reducing

3977-506: The climate demanded it. The use of artificial turf was later banned by FIFA , UEFA and by many domestic football associations, though, in recent years, both governing bodies have expressed resurrected interest in the use of artificial surfaces in competition, provided that they are FIFA Recommended. UEFA has now been heavily involved in programs to test artificial turf, with tests made in several grounds meeting with FIFA approval. A team of UEFA, FIFA and German company Polytan conducted tests in

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4074-453: The club was obliged to install a natural grass pitch at Wetherby Road ; and after winning promotion in 2021 Sutton Utd were also obliged to tear up their artificial pitch and replace it with grass, at a cost of more than £500,000. Artificial pitches are permitted in all rounds of the FA Cup competition. The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup took place entirely on artificial surfaces, as the event

4171-445: The country. Rugby union also uses artificial surfaces at a professional level. Infill fields are used by English Premiership Rugby teams Gloucester , Newcastle Falcons , Saracens F.C. and the now defunct Worcester Warriors , as well as United Rugby Championship teams Cardiff , Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors . Some fields, including Twickenham Stadium , have incorporated a hybrid field, with grass and synthetic fibers used on

4268-445: The effective enforcement of trademark rights and may ultimately lead to genericization. Trademark owners may take various steps to reduce the risk, including educating businesses and consumers on appropriate trademark use, avoiding use of their marks in a generic manner, and systematically and effectively enforcing their trademark rights. If a trademark is associated with a new invention , the trademark owner may also consider developing

4365-407: The environment, and artificial turf is a source of microplastics pollution and rubber pollution in air , fresh-water , sea and soil environments. In Norway, Sweden, and at least some other places, the rubber granulate from artificial turf infill constitutes the second largest source of microplastics in the environment after the tire and road wear particles that make up a large portion of

4462-551: The expiration of Lego's last major patents in 1978. Lego manuals and catalogs throughout the 1980s included a message imploring customers to preserve the brand name by "referring to [their] bricks as 'LEGO Bricks or Toys', and not just 'LEGOS'." In the early 2000s, the company acquired the Legos.com URL in order to redirect customers to the Lego.com website and deliver a similar message. Despite these efforts, many children and adults in

4559-575: The fiber. The world production of synthetic fibers was 55.2 million tonnes in 2014. About half of all fibres are synthetic, with applications in every field of fiber and textile technology. Although many classes of fibers based on synthetic polymers have been evaluated as potentially valuable commercial products, four of them - nylon , polyester , acrylic and polyolefin - dominate the market. These four account for approximately 98 percent by volume of synthetic fiber production, with polyester alone accounting for around 60 percent. Synthetic fibers are

4656-647: The fine road debris . As early as 2007, Environment and Human Health, Inc., a lobby-group, proposed a moratorium on the use of ground-up rubber tires in fields and playgrounds based on health concerns; in September 2022, the European Commission made a draft proposal to restrict the use of microplastic granules as infill in sports fields. Synthetic fiber Nylon was the first commercially successful synthetic thermoplastic polymer. DuPont began its research project in 1927. The first nylon, nylon 66,

4753-466: The first MLB field to use a third-generation artificial surface, FieldTurf . All other remaining artificial turf stadiums were either converted to third-generation surfaces or were replaced entirely by new natural grass stadiums. In a span of 13 years, between 1992 and 2005, the National League went from having half of its teams using artificial turf to all of them playing on natural grass. With

4850-548: The first team to install an artificial pitch at their stadium in 1981, but were the first to remove it when they did so in 1988. Artificial pitches were banned from top-flight (then First Division) football in 1991, forcing Oldham Athletic to remove their artificial pitch after their promotion to the First Division in 1991, while then top-flight Luton Town also removed their artificial pitch at the same time. The last Football League team to have an artificial pitch in England

4947-546: The genericization of their trademarked software, Adobe Photoshop . This is shown via recurring use of "photoshop" as a noun, verb, or general adjective for all photo manipulation throughout the Internet and mass media. Since 2003, the European Union has actively sought to restrict the use of geographical indications by third parties outside the EU by enforcing laws regarding " protected designation of origin ". Although

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5044-399: The golf industry, such as on driving ranges, putting greens and even in some circumstances tee boxes. For low budget courses, particularly those catering to casual golfers, synthetic putting greens offer the advantage of being a relatively cheap alternative to installing and maintaining grass greens, but are much more similar to real grass in appearance and feel compared to sand greens which are

5141-651: The grass in the stadium, which has a retractable roof and is located in a desert city, was cited as the reason for the switch. In 2020, Miami's Marlins Park (now loanDepot Park) also switched to artificial turf for similar reasons, while the Texas Rangers' new Globe Life Field was opened with an artificial surface, as it is also a retractable roof ballpark in a hot weather city; this puts the number of teams using synthetic turf in MLB at five as of 2023. The first professional American football team to play on artificial turf

5238-515: The harsh weather conditions in the latter-half of the season. The only one that does not is BMO Field in Toronto, which initially had an artificial pitch and has been shared by the CFL's Toronto Argonauts since 2016 (part of the endzones at that stadium are covered with artificial turf). The first stadium to use the next-generation surface was Ottawa's Frank Clair Stadium (now TD Place Stadium ), which

5335-571: The lower back, possibly even shortening the careers of those players who played a significant portion of their games on artificial surfaces. Players also complained that the turf was much hotter than grass, sometimes causing the metal spikes to burn their feet or plastic ones to melt. These factors eventually provoked a number of stadiums, such as the Kansas City Royals ' Kauffman Stadium , to switch from artificial turf back to natural grass. In 2000, St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field became

5432-610: The new FieldTurf or other similar surfaces but would also see several teams playing on grass adopt a new surface. (The Indianapolis Colts ' RCA Dome and the St. Louis Rams ' Edward Jones Dome were the last two stadiums in the NFL to replace their first-generation AstroTurf surfaces for next-generation ones after the 2004 season ). For example, after a three-year experiment with a natural surface, Giants Stadium went to FieldTurf for 2003, while M&T Bank Stadium added its own artificial surface

5529-462: The new home of Chivas , one of the most popular teams in Mexico. The owner of Chivas, Jorge Vergara , defended the reasoning behind using artificial turf because the stadium was designed to be "environment friendly and as such, having grass would result [in] using too much water." Some players criticized the field, saying its harder surface caused many injuries. When Johan Cruyff became the adviser of

5626-426: The outside of the window causing the reflection. Artificial turf has been used at airports. Here it provides several advantages over natural turf – it does not support wildlife, it has high visual contrast with runways in all seasons, it reduces foreign object damage (FOD) since the surface has no rocks or clumps, and it drains well. Some artificial turf systems allow for the integration of fiber-optic fibers into

5723-482: The petroleum and toxic chemicals used in its manufacture. Artificial turf first gained substantial attention in 1966, when ChemGrass was installed in the year-old Astrodome , developed by Monsanto and rebranded as AstroTurf , now a generic trademark (registered to a new owner) for any artificial turf. The first-generation system of shortpile fibers without infill of the 1960s has largely been replaced by two more. The second features longer fibers and sand infill and

5820-461: The players, did not pass enough sunlight to support the grass. For most of the 1965 season , the Astros played on green-painted dirt and dead grass. The solution was to install a new type of artificial grass on the field, ChemGrass, which became known as AstroTurf. Given its early use, the term astroturf has since been genericized as a term for any artificial turf. Because the supply of AstroTurf

5917-467: The possibility of boycotts, FIFA 's head of women's competitions, Tatjana Haenni, made it clear that "we play on artificial turf and there's no Plan B." The first stadium to use artificial turf in Brazil was Atlético Paranaense 's Arena da Baixada in 2016. In 2020, the administration of Allianz Parque , home of Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras , started the implementation of the second artificial pitch in

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6014-420: The relative environmental footprints of natural and artificial turf is complex, with outcomes depending on a wide range of factors, including (to give the example of a sports field): Artificial turf has been shown to contribute to global warming by absorbing significantly more radiation than living turf and, to a lesser extent, by displacing living plants that could sequester carbon dioxide through photosynthesis;

6111-486: The replacement of Minneapolis's Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome by Target Field in 2010, only two MLB stadiums used artificial turf from 2010 through 2018: Tropicana Field and Toronto's Rogers Centre. This number grew to three when the Arizona Diamondbacks switched Chase Field to artificial turf for the 2019 season; the stadium had grass from its opening in 1998 until 2018, but the difficulty of maintaining

6208-463: The same year (it has since been removed and replaced with a natural surface, which the stadium had before installing the turf). Later examples include Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium), which went from grass to turf in 2004; Gillette Stadium , which made the switch in 2006; and NRG Stadium , which did so in 2015. As of 2021, 14 NFL fields out of 30 are artificial. NFL players overwhelmingly prefer natural grass over synthetic surfaces, according to

6305-721: The self-pass, and to the interpretation of obstruction) have contributed significantly to change the nature of the game, greatly increasing the speed and intensity of play as well as placing far greater demands on the conditioning of the players. Some association football clubs in Europe installed synthetic surfaces in the 1980s, which were called "plastic pitches" (often derisively) in countries such as England. There, four professional club venues had adopted them; QPR's Loftus Road (1981–1988), Luton Town's Kenilworth Road (1985–1991), Oldham Athletic's Boundary Park (1986–1991) and Preston North End's Deepdale (1986–1994). QPR had been

6402-588: The site of the game, SoFi Stadium , was a turf field. Arena football is played indoors on the older short-pile artificial turf. The first professional Canadian football stadium to use artificial turf was Empire Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia , then home of the Canadian Football League 's BC Lions , which installed 3M TartanTurf in 1970. Today, eight of the nine stadiums in the CFL currently use artificial turf, largely because of

6499-417: The speed of the game considerably and changed the shape of hockey sticks to allow for different techniques, such as reverse stick trapping and hitting. Field hockey artificial turf differs from artificial turf for other sports, in that it does not try to reproduce a grass feel, being made of shorter fibers. This allows the improvement in speed brought by earlier artificial turfs to be retained. This development

6596-411: The surface. This allows for the field to be much more hard wearing, making it less susceptible to weather conditions and frequent use. Carpet has been used as a surface for indoor tennis courts for decades, though the first carpets used were more similar to home carpets than a synthetic grass. After the introduction of AstroTurf , it came to be used for tennis courts, both indoor and outdoor, though only

6693-528: The team, he recommended the switch to natural grass, which the team did in 2012. In November 2011, it was reported that a number of English football clubs were interested in using artificial pitches again on economic grounds. As of January 2020, artificial pitches are not permitted in the Premier League or Football League but are permitted in the National League and lower divisions. Bromley are an example of an English football club who currently use

6790-453: The tentacles from getting a tight seal. The first major academic review of the environmental and health risks and benefits of artificial turf was published in 2014; it was followed by extensive research on possible risks to human health, but holistic analyses of the environmental footprint of artificial turf compared with natural turf only began to emerge in the 2020s, and frameworks to support informed policymaking were still lacking. Evaluating

6887-439: The term genericization refers to the process of a brand drug losing market exclusivity to generics. Trademark erosion , or genericization , is a special case of antonomasia related to trademarks . It happens when a trademark becomes so common that it starts being used as a common name and the original company has failed to prevent such use. Once it has become an appellative, the word cannot be registered any more; this

6984-437: The term " game console ", at that time a neologism . Whether or not a mark is popularly identified as genericized, the owner of the mark may still be able to enforce the proprietary rights that attach to the use or registration of the mark, as long as the mark continues to exclusively identify the owner as the commercial origin of the applicable products or services. If the mark does not perform this essential function and it

7081-653: The term ' googling ' in reference to Web searches. In 2006, both the Oxford English Dictionary and the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary struck a balance between acknowledging widespread use of the verb coinage and preserving the particular search engine's association with the coinage, defining google (all lower case, with - le ending) as a verb meaning "use the Google search engine to obtain information on

7178-523: The terms to be genericized, stating the company's failure to reinforce the brand's connection with their product as the reason. A different sense of the word genericized in the pharmaceutical industry refers to products whose patent protection has expired. For example, Lipitor was genericized in the U.S. when the first competing generic version was approved by the FDA in November 2011. In this same context,

7275-557: The third adds recycled crumb rubber to the sand. Compared to earlier systems, modern artificial turf more closely resembles grass in appearance and is also considered safer for athletic competition. However, it is still not widely considered to be equal to grass. Sports clubs, leagues, unions and individual athletes have frequently spoken out and campaigned against it, while local governments have enacted and enforced laws restricting and/or banning its use. David Chaney, who moved to Raleigh, North Carolina , in 1960 and later served as Dean of

7372-868: The total number of pitches required. The study recommended optimising the use of existing pitches before building new ones, and choosing the best surface for the likely intensity of use. Another suggestion is the introduction of green roofs to offset the conversion of grassland to artificial turf. Contrary to popular belief, artificial turf is not maintenance free. It requires regular maintenance, such as raking and patching, to keep it functional and safe. Some artificial turf uses infill such as silicon sand, but most uses granulated rubber , referred to as " crumb rubber ". Granulated rubber can be made from recycled car tires and may carry heavy metals , PFAS chemicals , and other chemicals of environmental concern. The synthetic fibers of artificial turf are also subject to degradation. Thus chemicals from artificial turfs leach into

7469-489: The traditional all-dirt path, but starting in 1970 with Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, teams began using the "base cutout" layout on the diamond, with the only dirt being on the pitcher's mound, batter's circle, and in a five-sided diamond-shaped "sliding box" around each base. With this layout, a painted arc would indicate where the edge of the outfield grass would normally be, to assist fielders in positioning themselves properly. The last stadium in MLB to use this configuration

7566-408: The traditional alternative surface. Because of the vast areas of golf courses and the damage from clubs during shots, it is not feasible to surface fairways with artificial turf. Artificial grass is used to line the perimeter of some sections of some motor circuits, and offers less grip than some other surfaces. It can pose an obstacle to drivers if it gets caught on their car. Since the early 1990s,

7663-470: The turf. This would allow for runway lighting to be embedded in artificial landing surfaces for aircraft (or lighting or advertisements to be directly embedded in a playing surface). Artificial turf is commonly used for tanks containing octopusses, in particular the Giant Pacific octopus since it is a reliable way to prevent the octopusses from escaping their tank, as they prevent the suction cups on

7760-588: The use of hardscape and plantless areas, including artificial turf. In several locations in different countries, homeowners have been fined, ordered to remove artificial turf and/or had to defend themselves in courts. Many of these restrictions can be found in local bylaws and ordinances. These not always applied in a consistent manner, especially in municipalities that utilize a complaint-based model for enforcing local laws. Sunlight reflections from nearby windows can cause artificial turf to melt. This can be avoided by adding perforated vinyl privacy window film adhesive to

7857-499: The use of synthetic grass in the more arid western states of the United States has moved beyond athletic fields to residential and commercial landscaping. New water saving programs, as of 2019, which grant rebates for turf removal, do not accept artificial turf as replacement and require a minimum of plants. The use of artificial grass for convenience sometimes faces opposition: Legislation frequently seeks to preserve natural gardens and fully water permeable surfaces, therefore restricting

7954-664: The world. In 2009, FIFA launched the Preferred Producer Initiative to improve the quality of artificial football turf at each stage of the life cycle (manufacturing, installation and maintenance). Currently, there are five manufacturers that were selected by FIFA: Act Global, Limonta, Desso, GreenFields, and Edel Grass. These firms have made quality guarantees directly to FIFA and have agreed to increased research and development. In 2010, Estadio Omnilife with an artificial turf opened in Guadalajara to be

8051-478: Was Rogers Centre in Toronto, when they switched to an all-dirt infield (but keeping the artificial turf) for the 2016 season. The biggest difference in play on artificial turf was that the ball bounced higher than on real grass and also traveled faster, causing infielders to play farther back than they would normally so that they would have sufficient time to react. The ball also had a truer bounce than on grass so that on long throws fielders could deliberately bounce

8148-431: Was Preston North End, who removed their pitch in 1994 after eight years in use. Artificial pitches were banned from the top four divisions from 1995. Artificial turf gained a bad reputation globally, with fans and especially with players. The first-generation artificial turf surfaces were carpet-like in their look and feel, and thus, a far harder surface than grass and soon became known as an unforgiving playing surface that

8245-433: Was adopted in 1924, with "viscose" being used for the viscous organic liquid used to make both rayon and cellophane . A similar product known as cellulose acetate was discovered in 1865. Rayon and acetate are both artificial fibers, but not truly synthetic, being made from wood . Nylon , the first synthetic fiber in the "fully synthetic" sense of that term, was developed by Wallace Carothers , an American researcher at

8342-741: Was cancelled following a petition from Toledo -based Haughton Elevator Company . In rejecting an appeal from Otis, an examiner from the United States Patent and Trademark Office cited the company's own use of the term "escalator" alongside the generic term " elevator " in multiple advertisements without any trademark significance. Therefore, trademark owners go to extensive lengths to avoid genericization and trademark erosion. Genericization may be specific to certain professions and other subpopulations. For example, Luer-Lok (Luer lock) , Phoroptor (phoropter) , and Port-a-Cath (portacath) have genericized mind share among physicians due to

8439-449: Was completed. The Chicago White Sox became the first team to install artificial turf in an outdoor stadium, as they used it only in the infield and adjacent foul territory at Comiskey Park from 1969 through 1975. Artificial turf was later installed in other new multi-purpose stadiums such as Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium , Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium , and Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium . Early AstroTurf baseball fields used

8536-452: Was developed in 1894 by English chemist Charles Frederick Cross , and his collaborators Edward John Bevan and Clayton Beadle. They named the fiber " viscose ", because the reaction product of carbon disulfide and cellulose in basic conditions gave a highly viscous solution of xanthate . The first commercial viscose rayon was produced by the UK company Courtaulds in 1905. The name "rayon"

8633-646: Was filed on 1 October 2014 in an Ontario tribunal court by a group of women's international soccer players against FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association and specifically points out that in 1994 FIFA spent $ 2 million to plant natural grass over artificial turf in New Jersey and Detroit . Various celebrities showed their support for the women soccer players in defense of their lawsuit, including actor Tom Hanks , NBA player Kobe Bryant and U.S. men's soccer team keeper Tim Howard . Even with

8730-512: Was installed in the Astrodome in Houston , Texas . The state-of-the-art indoor stadium had attempted to use natural grass during its initial season in 1965 , but this failed miserably and the field conditions were grossly inadequate during the second half of the season, with the dead grass painted green. Due to a limited supply of the new artificial grass, only the infield was installed before

8827-510: Was no difference to her post-match recovery – a view shared by the rest of the squad. The squad spent much time preparing on the surface and had no problems with its use in Winnipeg. "We've been training on [artificial] turf pretty much all year so I think we're kind of used to it in that way ... I think grass or turf you can still pull up sore after a game so it's definitely about getting the recovery in and getting it right", Foord said. A lawsuit

8924-663: Was part of a trademark registered in Canada by a Canadian manufacturer, then ham manufacturers in Parma , Italy, might be unable to use this name in Canada. Wines (such as Bordeaux , Port and Champagne ), cheeses (such as Roquefort , Parmesan , Gouda , and Feta ), Pisco liquor, and Scotch whisky are examples of geographical indications. Compare Russian use of "Шампанское" (= Shampanskoye) for champagne -type wine made in Russia. In

9021-490: Was played in Canada, where almost all of the country's stadiums use artificial turf due to climate issues. This plan garnered criticism from players and fans, some believing the artificial surfaces make players more susceptible to injuries. Over fifty of the female athletes protested against the use of artificial turf on the basis of gender discrimination . Australia winger Caitlin Foord said that after playing 90 minutes there

9118-411: Was prone to cause more injuries , and in particular, more serious joint injuries, than would comparatively be suffered on a grass surface. This turf was also regarded as aesthetically unappealing to many fans. In 1981, London football club Queens Park Rangers dug up its grass pitch and installed an artificial one. Others followed, and by the mid-1980s there were four artificial surfaces in operation in

9215-465: Was still low, only a limited amount was available for the first home game. There was not enough for the entire outfield, but there was enough to cover the traditional grass portion of the infield. The outfield remained painted dirt until after the All-Star Break . The team was sent on an extended road trip before the break, and on 19 July 1966, the installation of the outfield portion of AstroTurf

9312-533: Was synthesized on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Hume Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station. The next step was taken by Hilaire de Chardonnet , a French engineer and industrialist , who invented the first artificial silk , which he called "Chardonnet silk". In the late 1870s, Chardonnet was working with Louis Pasteur on a remedy to the epidemic that was destroying French silkworms . Failure to clean up

9409-845: Was the Houston Oilers , then part of the American Football League , who moved into the Astrodome in 1968, which had installed AstroTurf two years prior. In 1969, the University of Pennsylvania 's Franklin Field in Philadelphia, at the time also home field of the Philadelphia Eagles , switched from grass to AstroTurf, making it the first National Football League stadium to use artificial turf. In 2002, CenturyLink Field , originally planned to have

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