Agout a year ago, I thought that we were approaching the peak of the hype-cycle when tracking green-related trademark applications. Foolish me! In the May 14 issue of USA Today, the daily data Snapshot® upped the anty. In 2007, according to a study by IP law firm Dechert LLP:

Applications for GREEN terms and phrases more than doubled in 2007 over 2006, from 1100 to 2400. The phrase “Go Green” appeared in various forms in over 100 proposed marks. (OK, so we’re not that original!) The word CLEAN appeared in 900 applications and the combination GREEN and CLEAN appeared in 74 filings. The prefix ECO- was found in nearly 900 applications as well.

This year's analysis indicated:
  • 32% increase in terms and phrases containing GREEN, up to 3240.
  • 86% increase in the prefix ECO-, found in 1730 applications
  • 26% increase in the prefix ENVIRO-, 530 applications
  • 30% increase in the use of the term CLEAN (as in the "ecological sense"), last years annoucnement reported "clean" as a general term
As I noted last year, this just means that differentiating between one "green" product and another will be more difficult. It also indicates that "green" may be getting closer to the norm. (Note: Technology is going to either make us more productive or drive us crazy: this post was published from my airplane seat, 30,000 feet in the air. WiFi has made it to air travel!)