Some aspects of means of individualization on the market of medical and pharmaceutical services

Abstract

Ponomarova O. Some aspects of means of individualization on the market of medical and pharmaceutical services. The article deals with some aspects of means of individualization in the market of medical and pharmaceutical services. Of particular importance is the identification of goods or services in the field of health care, in conditions of high competition in the pharmaceutical and medical markets, is for patients who consume (use) the product or service of this manufacturer, because brand awareness will not allow the patient to confuse one drug with another. Confusion in the names of medicines is quite common, but such confusion can lead to the appointment, purchase and use of a medicine with a similar name, which can have threatening consequences for human life and health.In the market of medical and pharmaceutical services, in most cases, we trace such means of individualization of participants in economic activities as trade names and trademarks (signs for goods and services). Individualization tools on the one hand individualize the entrepreneur (manufacturer) from a number of other participants in the market of medical and pharmaceutical services, and on the other - are a link between the manufacturer of the drug and the patient or between the doctor (health care facility / clinic) and the patient. A trade name is a designation under which an entity may act in a business relationship. Trademarks intended to identify and individualize the goods (services) of the manufacturer (provider) are usually associated with the name of the doctor who provides medical services or with the name of the medicinal product under which the medicinal product enters into commercial circulation and is sold on market of medical and pharmaceutical goods.There are many lawsuits regarding the similarity of the trade name of a medicinal product to another. In Ukraine, the owner of a trademark for a medicinal product may apply for protection of his rights against unfair competition to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine and to the court for protection of infringed intellectual property rights to the mark.Companies that manufacture medicines in the process of creating a new drug name must remember that the main function of the brand name of the drug is to protect patients from misleading them, as well as to prevent medical errors due to the similarity of drug names, which can lead to to risks to life and health of patients. At the same time, the correctly and successfully chosen trade name of the drug plays an important commercial and legal role in the implementation of pharmaceutical companies in the market of medicines.Key words: means of individualization, trademark, medicine, pharmacy, intellectualproperty