Top Articles

So, you finally settled on the perfect name for your product or service – it describes the business without being overly descriptive, it tells you

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

r customers exactly what you want them to know and it's catchy. That's fantastic! Finding just the right name is vitally important to the success

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

f any product line or service.

Is it required that I register my trademark?

No, not at all. However, registering your trademark, specific

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

lly your Federal trademark, does provide you with several advantages:

The right to use the circle-R symbol as notice to the public abou

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

your Federal trademark

The exclusive rights to the name within your industry across the country

Establishing brand identity

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

i>

But what if someone else already came up with that name?

While the name may be unique and distinctive to you, there is a possib

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

ility that another party already has prior trademark or common-law rights to the name for your industry. Before you invest time, money and effort

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

into your name, do some research. The first places to check are right at your fingertips – the World Wide Web – and they're free!

Preliminary

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

earch Sites:

The Trademarks section on the USPTO Web Site

Your Secretary of State to s

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

e if they have a searchable database of names. You can find a listing of all states ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

htm">here

Major search engines – put your product name in quotes to find exact matches; use keywords with your product name to find

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

relevant hits

Yellow pages

However, please be aware that this is merely scratching the surface of what's out there. O

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

ly comprehensive research will tell you if the name is truly available. But, these links are free & a great place to start, so try them fi

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

st. If the name appears to be available, then you can move on to getting comprehensive research done by a private company or an attorney.

Ok,

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

o the name is clear; now what?

To register your trademark, you have 2 options – file for a Federal or a State trademark. If you are only goi

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

g to sell your product or services in 1 state, then a State trademark is the way to go. The trademark form can be acquired through the Secretary o

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

f State (see link above). If you are OR will be selling your products or services in at least 2 states, then you're able to file for a Federal tra

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

emark. The form can be completed online at the USPTO (see link above).

While anyone has the ability to go online to access these forms,it's st

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

ongly recommended to hire a private company or an attorney for the preparation and/or filing of the trademark application.To ensure a successf

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

l filing, it's best to leave it in the hands of those with experience.

You found the perfect name – now, make sure it's truly yours!

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

Tags

Links

Top Articles - Trademark a Name – How to Register a Trademark for Your Business

Related Articles: