The problem I have is with trademarks being used as nouns but somehow not becoming generic. I searched "Velcro" on Amazon.co.uk. The best selling item is Velcro branded "Stick On". What even is a "stick on"? No reasonable consumer would identify that as a hook and loop fastener without context. "Hook and loop" isn't even written on the front of the packaging. The "Velcro" trademark is clearly functioning as a noun, which means from an ethical point of view it should be generic.
You are a mark; you are a rube; you have been rooked. there is absolutely nothing about a trademark that remotely implies a continuity of ownership, certainly not of production quality. see what happened to pyrex, brand loyalty to their trademark from rubes is the only thing going for them any more
Well, small and mid-size businesses are easy to miss if you work from home or live in a big city. They don't wield anything like the kind of power you describe. But they account for most of the US GDP and private sector jobs. You may want to stop and consider the value of multi-generational family-owned businesses.
wrong again, small businesses do not account for even 45% of US gdp. sorry to hear your jet ski rental isn't doing well
20 years for trademark is negotiable. That there needs to be an expiration date is not.