Naming pharmaceutical and biologic products presents unique challenges from both trademark and regulatory perspectives. In addition to the traditional marketing goals of trademark selection, companies evaluating names for medications must also consider safety issues, false advertising concerns, and more. Importantly, pharmaceutical trademarks must pass muster not only with the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), but also with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The recent advent of a market for biosimilars presents new questions and challenges.… More
Tag Archives: PTO
Trademark Red Tape: Post-Registration Proof Pilot To Go Permanent
Regular readers of the Trademark and Copyright Law Blog and our Trademark Red Tape™ column may recall our previous report on a pilot study by the United States Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) about post-registration proof of use. Under current PTO practice, a specimen demonstrating use of a mark on a single good or service within a class is sufficient to maintain registration for an entire class,… More
The PTO vs. The Phantom Marks: A Ghost Story
Don’t read this one before bed.
As autumn sets in and Halloween approaches, my mind turns to jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, and phantoms. Phantom marks, that is. Equally incorporeal though perhaps somewhat less frightening than their ghostly namesakes, phantom marks are registered trademarks that contain a “phantom,” or changeable, element. A well-known phantom registration was _ _ _ _ _ _ FOR DUMMIES for various self-help books,… More