On 15/08/2017 20:39, Bod wrote:
Cat's eyes extinct as council adopts 'road studs' because tourists read
its signs too literally:

They're a great British invention that have guided countless travellers
home late at night. But now it seems cat's eyes - or at least the name -
will be scrapped.

The move follows reports of concerned tourists fearing that animal
cruelty had become a standard practice on our country roads.

Signs saying "cat's eyes removed" were being read too literally so,
after a string of mix-ups, Suffolk county council decided to replace
them with signs warning of "road studs" ahead, and from now on the
council will only refer to them that way.

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/cat-apos-e...203000814.html

The correct generic name for such items is "roadstuds".

The inventor (Percy Shaw) called his company "Reflecting Roadstuds Ltd"
and adopted the word "Catseyes" as a registered trademark for HIS
roadstud design. Therefore, whilst "Catseyes" is a legitimate term, it
may only be applied to the products of Reflective Roadstuds Ltd, and not
to any other manufacturer's products, hence the precise adherence of
councils to trade names.

It's a bit like using the word (another registered trademark) "Coke"
only to refer to the products of The Coca-Cola Company and referring to
other makers' products simply as "cola".

I'd have thought this was well known.

http://www.percyshawcatseyes.com/