The stationary-bike company wants the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel spin-bike maker Mad Dogg Athletics’ 20-year-old trademarks for the terms “spin” and “spinning.” (Bloomberg)

Talking point: Peloton argues that the words have become generic terms, and that “spin class and spin bike are part of the fitness lexicon.” Mad Dogg also owns the trademarks to the terms “spinner” and “spin fitness,” as well as a spinning logo. These are “important business assets” that identify what the company does and distinguishes it from competitors, according to Mad Dogg’s website. There is precedent for what Peloton wants. The terms “escalator” and “murphy bed” were once trademarks before becoming ubiquitous, losing their protection. The Peloton suit appears to be retaliatory: Mad Dogg filed an infringement suit against Peloton in December 2020 over patents for programmed exercise bikes.