Creative Sticky Notes

The term "Post-it" and the canary yellow color are trademarks of 3M. Accepted generic terms for competitors include "sticky notes", "repositionable notes", and "repositional notes". To take advantage of the success of the brand, 3M manufactures other products related to the Post-it concept.
History
In 1968, Dr. Spencer Silver, a scientist at 3M in the United States, accidentally developed a "low-tack", reusable, pressure sensitive adhesive. For five years, Silver promoted his invention within 3M, both informally and through seminars, but without much success. In 1974, a colleague of his, Art Fry, who had attended one of Silver's seminars, came up with the idea of using the adhesive to anchor his bookmark in his hymnbook. Fry then developed the idea by taking advantage of 3M's officially sanctioned "permitted bootlegging" policy. 3M launched the product in 1977, but it failed, as consumers had not tried it. A year later, 3M issued free samples to residents of Boise, Idaho, and 90 percent of the people who tried them said that they would buy the product. By 1980, the product was being sold nationwide in the US; in 1981 Post-its were launched in Canada and Europe.