Trademarks are an important form of intellectual property created to protect your brand and your consumers. Trademarks promote brand visibility, ensure that consumers can distinguish your products from those offered by competitors, and offer key information about the source of your products. These components are crucial to informing consumers regarding what to expect when they purchase your products. Trademarks also help consumers avoid accidentally purchasing a similar, yet inferior, product marketed by another company.
If you are interested in registering a trademark for a medicine or medicinal product, learn more about medicinal trademarks work by consulting the information below. Then, contact Four Reasons Legal to discuss how our Denver trademark lawyers can help you grow your business by securing federal protection for your trademark.
A trademark is a distinctive word, name, phrase, slogan, picture, design, symbol, logo, emblem, device, or any combination thereof used to identify your unique products or services on the market. The US Patent and Trademark Office is a federal agency responsible for granting trademarks, patents, and copyrights to individuals and businesses for their inventions. This agency categorizes trademarks into 45 separate classes of products or services. Trademark classes allow brands to register trademarks in a way that most accurately represents their business and to creatively describe their offerings without infringing upon another registered trademark.
You may only trademark products that fall within a class of products you are already offering on the market or a class of products you intend to offer. Medicines, pharmaceuticals, and other preparations for medical and veterinary use are listed under Class 5. The USPTO considers the following items to be Class 5 products:
In some cases, you may also want to register your trademark in a coordinated class. Keep in mind that you will be required to pay a separate registration fee for every class of products that you register. Applicants who file for Class 5 trademark registration commonly file in these coordinated classes, as well:
Trademarks for pharmaceuticals are important because they ensure consumers can tell the difference between similar products available on the market. These trademarks allow people to choose the correct pharmaceuticals to treat, prevent, or alleviate the symptoms of specific medical conditions and reduce dangerous medication errors in healthcare facilities. As your product becomes more visible on the market and successful in giving consumers the results they want, your trademark can help eliminate consumer confusion and improve public health. At the same time, you will be establishing your brand as a credible, authoritative, and trustworthy source of reliable, high-quality products.
Before launching a new medicine or pharmaceutical product, you must perform a comprehensive trademark search of the USPTO’s current trademark database to ensure your intended trademark is not already in use by another company. Along with securing approval for trademark registration, you must also obtain approval from the relevant health authorities before you can legally sell your pharmaceutical product on your market. This means you must consider the rules and regulations of the Food and Drug Administration as well as the rules for trademark registration through the USPTO.
In contrast with many other types of products, trademarking a medicine involves creating at least three different names for a product:
For more information on how to register a trademark, including eligibility requirements, review our Trademark FAQs page.
To ensure your hard-earned work and investments will pay off, contact Four Reasons Legal today to discuss your options. Our experienced Denver trademark attorneys can explain the requirements for trademarking pharmaceuticals and help you create and register your trademark. If you encounter any disputes or if someone commits trademark infringement against your brand, contact our firm. We can advocate on your behalf to protect your business and negotiate with the infringing party to achieve the optimal outcome.