Well, as I stated, I say tabular grain. I know usually from context when T-grain is being used generically, but why add possible confusion by using the term? If someone says T-grain I think Kodak.
When someone says T-
Max, I think Kodak.
When using the term
tabular-grained, one is usually using it in conversation to describe a group of emulsions that are constructed in a similar way: to be very skinny, and to minimize the number of "holes" in between grain clumps; the "holes" being the things that cause what we generically (and perfectly acceptably) call "grain" in a print.
When one is referring specifically to a tabular-grained film made by Kodak, one usually refers to the name of the line of films, i.e. T-Max, as opposed to using the Kodak trademark for tabular-grained, e.g. Kodak's T-Grained technology. If we are talking about a Kodak tabular grained film, we say something like, "I want to shoot a roll of T-Max for this project," not "I want to shoot [trademarked] T-Grained film for this project."
If one simply wishes to use a roll of
a film that uses tabular-grain technology for a project - not specifically T-Max - one usually says something like, "I want to shoot a roll of a t-grained film for this project. Which t-grained ISO 400 film would you recommend? T-Max, Delta, or Acros?"
So, it is the name of the line of films that is used to distinguish them between one manufacturer and another, not the trademarked names of the technology that are used by the respective film manufacturers.
One would usually use the trademarked term, T-Grained, when discussing the specifics of Kodak's T-Max
emulsion compared to any of the other brands' tabular-grain technology - e.g. Fuji's Sigma Crystal technology - not usually when discussing images themselves.
...all of which is why I think it is so silly to tell people that the abbreviation for tabular-grained is unacceptable. The correction has no practical application.
We could all use "Nikon" to mean 35mm SLR, but would it be better?
...and I do, as did many when Nikon first took over the world in the late fifties and the sixties. It
is better when I want to use a shorthand term that means "35mm SLR" instead of saying "35mm SLR."