<<So "generic" is most often a charitable name for a knock-off.">>

Thus, "Generic Givenche" and not "knock-off," "Generic Dollar" and not "counterfeit."

And taking leave--uncharacteristically--of the ridiculous, "generic" brings attention to an important matter of ethics much in the news lately concerning the manufacture of AIDS medications for third world distribution. Among the less discussed aspects of the controversy are: (a) the special interest the politics of this part of public health holds for the wealthy citizens of developed nations; and (b) the ethical "dilemma" posed to economies whose wealth is increasingly concentrated in "intellectual property" which term, so used, is fundamentally an oxymoron as a matter of law (Sparteye?). "Generic," in the age of commerce, points directly at that four-letter word, "liberty."