Pharmaceutical trademarks: Navigating through the FDA's pilot program

Abstract

Creation and clearance of pharmaceutical trademarks continues to be one of the most difficult and challenging areas of trademark law. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently initiated a 2-year Pilot Program under Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) IV. The intent of the program is to enable participating pharmaceutical firms to evaluate proposed pharmaceutical marks and submit the data generated from those evaluations to the FDA for review. Submitting a trademark to the FDA warrants questions: What supporting data is needed and accepted when proposing a mark? What issues might arise, and how can they be averted? In a recent Thomson Reuters on-demand webinar (http://science.thomsonreuters.com/news/2010-02/8580404/), a group of renowned experts in the field of trademark development review the FDA pilot program, outline the requirements for submission and discuss what the changes will mean in clearing new pharmaceutical marks. They also present various approaches to trademark development and evaluation in light of the FDA's views.