Pharmaceutical trademarks

In Canada, the selection of a brand name for a prescription drug must be assessed bearing in mind both regulatory issues handled by Health Canada and trademark registration issues pursuant to the Trademarks Act. If a product name is approved by Health Canada, it does not necessarily follow that the name will be registrable as a trademark; and similarly, if a name is found to be registrable as a trademark, this does not mean that the name will be accepted by Health Canada. Health Canada considers the issue of drug name confusion from a health and safety perspective. By contrast, the selection of a trademark under the Trademarks Act focuses on the likelihood of confusion as to the source of manufacture of the products.