Medicines, medical devices, diagnostics and health services are sold in a market where the brand does a great deal of work and is constrained in how it may do it. A product name has to be distinguishable from every other mark in a crowded class and from the non-proprietary name it sits beside; packaging has to carry required information and still be recognisable at a counter; and the assets carrying most of the value, a compound, a formulation, a manufacturing process or a body of testing data, are the parts a competitor works hardest to design around.
Apex Law Chamber advises manufacturers, importers, distributors, hospitals, diagnostic laboratories and health technology businesses on the intellectual property and commercial arrangements behind these products. We handle clearance and registration of brand and product names, protect packaging, labelling and device design, advise on patent filing and portfolio strategy for compounds, formulations, devices and processes, and protect the material no registration covers: manufacturing know-how, formulations, supplier terms and testing data. Alongside this we draft the agreements the sector runs on, contract manufacturing, supply and distribution, licensing and technology transfer, research collaboration, and confidentiality terms with the partners who see the process from the inside.
Product claims are a recurring source of exposure, since what is said about a medicine, device or health service in packaging, promotional material and digital channels is assessed separately from whether the product performs, and can attract complaints under the Consumer Protection law as well as challenges from competitors. Where goods are counterfeited or diverted, we act on trademark infringement, passing off and unfair competition, and use customs notification and border measures under the Customs law where interception is the practical remedy. Our work covers the intellectual property, contractual and commercial side of these products, and we coordinate with the client’s regulatory advisers on product approval and marketing authorization.