Disputes in pharmaceuticals. When it is possible not to bring it to court.

The pharmaceutical industry is quite competitive in terms of protecting intellectual property rights, both from the point of view of patent law (for example, patents for medicines, packaging design, etc.) and from the point of view of protecting the names of medicines.

Various companies produce drugs with a similar effect, which they strive to play with in its name. As a result, it is not uncommon for the names of drugs from different manufacturers to have some similarities (for example, a common root containing a part of the name of the active ingredient with the addition of elements to create a conditional difference, conditionally “Carvalolochka” and “Carvalulka”), or playing with the very effect that the drug produces, sometimes with the addition of common excipients, such as “plus”, “forte”, “lab”, etc.

(Note: examples are fictitious)

In this regard, conflicts are almost inevitable. Many pharmaceutical companies strive to make it as easy as possible for the consumer to remember the name and, if possible, immediately understand what or why this or that drug helps.

REVERA was contacted by a client who received a pre-trial claim for trademark infringement from a competitor on the basis that the name of his medicine, in the opinion of the company that filed the claim, is similar to the name of the medicine manufactured by this company registered as a trademark. The client asked for help to deal with the controversial situation, if possible, without bringing it to court.

Having analyzed the claim and the actual circumstances of the conflict situation, REVERA’s lawyers prepared a report for the client, which provided a detailed analysis and analysis of the potential violation, described possible actions on the part of the company that filed the claim and prepared recommendations for possible retaliatory actions.

Thanks to our recommendations, the parties were able to resolve the dispute without going to court and escalating the conflict, coming to a compromise solution. In the event that the case had gone to court, it is difficult to predict what the result would have been, and in this case, the parties made the most balanced decision.

What conclusions can be drawn from this situation:

1. When producing a new product, do not forget to protect your rights in a timely manner, at least register the name as a trademark.
2. Before registering or even if it is decided not to register the mark, before launching the product on the market, be sure to check the name for “purity”, that it is not occupied and there are no confusingly similar ones.
3. If your rights are violated, do not hesitate to defend your rights and protect your brand. After all, a trademark is needed to prohibit the use of your or a similar name for similar goods without your permission.
4. If you receive a claim, do not rush to enter into a conflict or, on the contrary, immediately give up. Perhaps there are options to negotiate or defend your rights, to prove that there is no violation. Turn to professionals for help, maybe you can get out of the conflict without losses or even be the winner. Everything depends on a careful study of all the circumstances of the case and the development of a competent strategy to protect your rights.

On all these issues and other issues in the field of legal regulation of the pharmaceutical industry, REVERA’s lawyers are ready to help.

Authors: Pavel Klementsov, Denis Valyukevich

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