Examination of Status and Challenges of Pharmaceutical Trademarks Registration in European :union:
Background and aim: The registration of trademarks related to pharmaceutical trademarks in the European Union in comparison with other trademarks requires more complicated and longer procedure. Respecting health hazards posed by medicine errors, determination of an appropriate legal framework is of particular importance. This article addresses such difficulties and complicity, and reviews and analyses the case law approach to those challenges. Method: The method used in this Article is descriptive analytical. Data have been compiled by bibliotheca methods through taking notes from relevant sources. The collected data have been analyzed in light of regulations and courts decisions. Findings: On the one hand, in addition to normal application based procedure required at trademark offices, pharmaceutical trademarks must be examined and approved prior to utilization by health related authorities because of their impact on public health. On the other hand, the length of this approval process could put the validity of many registered pharmaceutical trademarks at risk in light of genuine use requirement, because such trademarks cannot be used in the market before obtaining the public health related authorization. Moreover, the particular criteria governing the assessment of the likelihood of confusion add more complicity to the difficulties with the registration of pharmaceutical trademarks. When deciding on a proposed trademark and a prior mark, the difference between the consumers' knowledge that includes not only medicine and medical staff, 1 MA, Medical Ethics and Law Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Tehran, Iran. 2 PhD, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran. (Corresponding author) Email: Mehdii_zahedii@yahoo.com 3 PhD, Medical Ethics and Law Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Tehran, Iran. Original Article Received: 6 February 2015 Accepted: 29 February 2016 D ow nl oa de d fr om ij m ed ic al la w .ir a t 1 4: 51 03 30 o n W ed ne sd ay D ec em be r 5t h 20 18 721 hmnlSf ykshzp qwqH d ls ys hrmsh ,mh shshw ,m rhb 5931 but also patients poses challenges on how to evaluate the risk of confusion between those marks. Conclusion: When assessing a likelihood of confusion, healthcare professionals and end users should be considered. Also, in assessing the similarity of the goods or services concerned, factors such as their nature, their end users intended purpose and their method of use and whether they are in competition with each other or are complementary should be taken into account.