Isn't "Green Shift" a generic term?

Apparently there is (or isn't?) some controversy over a possible trademark infringement involving the name "Green Shift". There is indeed a company called "Green Shift". In fact I have a box of their stuff in my basement (sugarcane fibre plates, cornstarch cups, potato starch utensils, and napkins) that we used at the Kingston Liberal Party barbeques last summer.

I have to say that I viewed Green Shift as a rather generic term so I'm surprised that this controversy over a trademark infringement has come up. I did some Googling and besides my favourite vendor of barbeque supplies, I came up with:

1) Green Shift is a project of ecoPerth with support from Transport Canada’s MOST program. Green Shift sets out to tackle household vehicle use in small town and rural situations.
2) GreenShift (greenshift.com) develops and commercializes technologies that facilitate the efficient use of natural resources. We do so today by developing and integrating new clean technologies into existing biofuel production facilities, by selling equipment based on our technologies, and by using our technologies to directly produce and sell biomass-derived oils and fuels.
3) The Green Shift Project: A proposal from the Silicon Valley Institute for Global Sustainability

4)Green Shift: Changing Attitudes in Architecture to the Natural World (Paperback)
by John Farmer (Author), Kenneth Richardson (Editor) "This book is an account of how buildings from the eighteenth century to the present time have reflected the momentous changes

5)Reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the production, operation and disposal of computers is to be the aim of a new government taskforce. The public-private "Green Shift" taskforce will be led by Manchester City Council.

6) Michigan students demand green shift from automakers

Published by ninarizzo, January 13th, 2008 Clean Cars , Climate Challenge , Events , Oil , Transportation , global warming

7) Cranfield expertise could drive forward green shift

Written by Sam Fountain

Wednesday, 05 March 2008

Expertise at Cranfield University could be driving forward the world’s move toward green cars, providing high-end testing capabilities which could attract industry investment to the region.

8) Green Shift: Economics of Going "Green"
April 19, 2005
Produced by Robbie Harris

Building environmentally friendly homes and buildings is the buzz among developers these days. This report investigates the meaning of building green, who is doing it, and whether it can be cost effective.


Well, you get the idea. There are lots more instances of the term "green shift" being used in various places so it seems like a generic term to me. I hope they don't spend many resources fighting over it.