Trademark Intelligence for the Pharmaceutical Industry

# Every Pharmaceutical Brand Begins With a Name.

Before that name reaches a doctor, a pharmacy or a patient, there is another question worth asking:

## Is it a brand the business can safely build on?

TM Assist is a specialist trademark consultancy focused on pharmaceutical and healthcare businesses. We help businesses create, clear and protect their trademarks and manage them as commercial assets as the business grows.

Evaluate a Brand →Explore the TM Approach →
◇

Protect what
you build.

⌕

Navigate risk
with clarity.

↗

Strengthen brand
value over time.

One Industry. One Focus.

## We Don’t Do Trademarks for Everyone.

And that is deliberate.

Pharmaceutical brands operate differently. Names are often built around molecules, therapeutic indications, ingredients and familiar medical expressions. Similar prefixes and suffixes recur across the market.

A pharmaceutical name may travel from a company to a medical representative, a doctor, a distributor, a pharmacist and ultimately a patient sometimes in writing, sometimes verbally and sometimes simply from memory.

A difference that appears significant on a search report may sound remarkably small across a pharmacy counter. That changes the way a pharmaceutical trademark needs to be approached.

### TM Assist was built around that difference.

We focus on pharmaceutical and healthcare businesses because understanding the industry changes the questions you ask.

The TM Approach

## Trademark. Manage.

A pharmaceutical trademark does not begin with filing. And its protection does not end with registration. The TM Approach brings the lifecycle of a pharmaceutical brand under two connected disciplines.

T

### Trademark

Build the right trademark.

M

### Manage

Manage it as an asset.

T — Trademark

### Build the Right Trademark.

Trademark work begins when the business is creating or evaluating a name, understanding what already exists around it and deciding whether the proposed brand is worth commercial investment. Once that decision is made, the focus moves to securing the appropriate rights.

Create Search Clear Protect

- Pharmaceutical Brand Creation
- Naming Strategy
- Trademark Search & Brand Clearance
- Phonetic & Similarity Assessment
- Adoption Risk Assessment
- Brand Architecture
- Trademark Filing
- Class & Filing Strategy
- Examination Replies
- Show-Cause Hearings
- Trademark Prosecution & Registration
- International Trademark Protection

> Are we building the right trademark—and protecting it the right way?

Explore Trademark →

M — Manage

### Manage It as an Asset.

Registration is not the end of the trademark lifecycle. As a pharmaceutical business grows, its portfolio grows with it. The MANAGE discipline maintains visibility over the portfolio, protects the space around important brands and keeps ownership and commercial use aligned.

Audit Maintain Monitor Defend Commercialise

- Trademark Portfolio Audit
- Portfolio Management
- Renewal Management
- Trademark Watch
- Opposition & Enforcement
- Brand Ownership
- Licensing & Assignments
- PCD & Manufacturing Arrangements
- International Brand Management
- Brand Acquisition & Due Diligence
- Brand Transaction Support

> How do we protect and manage the value we have built?

Explore Manage →
TM Approach

Two Disciplines. One Brand Lifecycle.

### Trademark intelligently. Manage strategically.

Before the Application

## “Can We File It?” Is Not the First Question.

“Should We Build a Brand Around It?” is.

A trademark application can be filed relatively quickly. A pharmaceutical brand takes considerably longer to build.

Packaging is designed. Inventory is manufactured. Promotional material is printed. Medical representatives begin detailing the product. Distributors are appointed. Doctors begin recognising the name.

At that point, discovering a problem with the brand is no longer merely a trademark problem. It is a business problem.

### Clear Before You Commit.

Evaluate a Proposed Brand →

Search & Clearance

## Search Finds Information. Clearance Interprets It.

A database can tell us what has been filed. It takes judgment to decide what those results mean for a proposed pharmaceutical brand.

We look beyond identical names.

- How does the mark sound when spoken?
- What part of it is likely to be remembered?
- What earlier rights exist around it?
- How close are the underlying products?
- How significant are the shared elements?
- Would screen differences remain obvious when spoken or remembered?
- Could an earlier proprietor reasonably object?

### Is this a name worth investing behind?

That is the difference between conducting a trademark search and making a brand decision.

For Growing Pharma Businesses

## 10 Brands Can Be Tracked.100 Brands Need to Be Managed.

Growth changes the trademark problem.

A pharmaceutical company may have registrations, pending applications, examination matters, oppositions, renewals, legacy marks and international rights spread across multiple entities.

Some brands may no longer be commercially relevant. Others may be successful in the market without the protection management assumes they have.

### A Pharmaceutical Trademark Portfolio Audit helps answer:

- What do we own?
- Who owns it?
- Where is it protected?
- What requires action?
- Where are we exposed?

Request a Portfolio Audit →

Brand Ownership

## Sometimes the Biggest Trademark Risk Isn’t a Similar Brand.

### It’s Someone Else Claiming Yours.

A pharmaceutical product may be manufactured by one company, marketed by another and distributed through several others.

A PCD partner may control a territory. An overseas distributor may develop a local market. A group company may own the registration while another company actually uses the brand.

#### Who owns the trademark?

TM Assist helps pharmaceutical businesses structure trademark ownership, permitted use, licensing and transfer so that rights are deliberate rather than assumed.

Explore Brand Ownership →
10+Years

Trademark Experience

200+Businesses

Pharmaceutical Businesses Supported

P A N India

Trademark Support & Coordination

Who We Work With

## One Ecosystem. Different Business Models.

Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
Pharmaceutical Marketing Companies
PCD & Franchise Pharma Businesses
Third-Party & Contract Manufacturers
Nutraceutical Companies
Ayurvedic & Herbal Businesses
Veterinary Pharmaceutical Companies
Derma & Cosmetic Businesses
Medical Device Companies
Pharmaceutical Exporters

Why TM Assist

## Specialisation Changes the Questions You Ask.

We don’t look only at whether a trademark application can be filed.

- Should the name be adopted?
- How defensible is it?
- Who should own it?
- How does it fit within the existing portfolio?
- What could threaten it?
- Can it travel into another market?
- What happens when it is licensed, assigned or acquired?

A pharmaceutical trademark should not be treated as an application number. It should be managed as an asset.

Start With the Right Question

## Where Is Your Brand Today?

Still choosing the name? Ready to protect it? Already managing a growing portfolio? Dealing with a conflicting mark? Entering another market? Licensing, selling or acquiring a brand?

Wherever the brand stands today, start with the right question.

Speak With TM Assist →