Merck announces favorable English Court ruling on name use
Court says MSD breached an agreement with Merck by using "Merck" alone either as a trade mark or a name in the UK.
Merck has secured a favorable ruling in the English High Court following almost 3 years of litigation with US-based Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (MSD) regarding the use of the term "Merck".
In its judgement the English High Court stated that MSD had breached an agreement with the company by using "Merck" alone in the UK either as a trade mark or a name, online or offline. Merck and MSD had entered the agreement in 1955 and amended it in 1970. According to this agreement, Merck is entitled to use the name everywhere in the world, except the US and Canada.
"Our objective has been to protect the status quo established in the existing agreement,” said Friederike Rotsch, General Counsel at Merck. “Therefore, we are pleased that the English court has upheld our argument that MSD’s use of our name and brand 'MERCK' in our territories is beyond the limits agreed with MSD."
Merck relaunched its brand identity last year to reflect the transformation into a global science and technology company with three strong businesses in Healthcare Life Science and Performance Material and create a distinct identity vis-à-vis its patients, customers and investors across various industries and geographies.
The judge said Merck was entitled to an order to prevent MSD from describing itself in any printed or digital material addressed to the UK as "'Merck" alone, and restraining MSD's use of the trade mark "MERCK" alone. The judge also held that MSD’s use of “Merck” as part of branding on its global websites were directed to the UK and infringed Merck’s trade mark rights in the UK.
Related News
-
News Patients vs Pharma – who will the Inflation Reduction Act affect the most?
The Inflation Reduction Act brought in by the Biden administration in 2022 aims to give better and more equitable access to healthcare in the USA. However, pharma companies are now concerned about the other potential costs of such legislation. -
News CPHI Podcast Series: What does the changing US Pharma market mean for industry and patients alike?
In this week's episode of the CPHI Podcast Series Lucy Chard, Digital Editor for CPHI Online is joined by James Manser to discuss the political and market changes in the US pharma field. -
News CPHI Barcelona Annual Report illuminates industry trends for 2024
The CPHI Annual Survey comes into it’s 7th year to report on the predicted trends for 2024. Over 250 pharma executives were asked 35 questions, with their answers informing the industry landscape for the next year, spanning all major pharma marke... -
News Which 10 drugs are open to price negotiation with Medicare in the USA?
The Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services, under the Biden administration in the USA, has released a list of the 10 drugs that will be open to price negotiations as part of the new legislation under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). -
News EU Medical Devices Regulation causes unintended disappearances of medical devices for children, doctors state
Doctor groups and associations have appealed to the EU to correct the EU Medical Devices Regulation law that may cause unintended shortages of essential drug and medical devices for children and rare disease patients. -
News 10 Major Drug Approvals So Far in 2023
Last year, 37 novel drugs were approved by the FDA, this was a high number for such a category, and covered many fields including oncology, demonstrating how promising further research is, and how it is only continuing to build. To date, there are alre... -
News Detecting Alzheimer's disease with a simple lateral flow test
A novel rapid diagnostic test for early-stage Alzheimer's disease has been developed using a biomarker binder from Aptamer Group along with technology from Neuro-Bio, the neurodegenerative disease experts. -
News CPHI Podcast Series: outsourcing and manufacturing trends
Listen to the CPHI Podcast Series this June to hear Gil Roth of the PBOA speak with Digital Editor Lucy Chard about the biggest trends and topics to watch in pharma outsourcing and manufacturing at the minute.
Position your company at the heart of the global Pharma industry with a CPHI Online membership
-
Your products and solutions visible to thousands of visitors within the largest Pharma marketplace
-
Generate high-quality, engaged leads for your business, all year round
-
Promote your business as the industry’s thought-leader by hosting your reports, brochures and videos within your profile
-
Your company’s profile boosted at all participating CPHI events
-
An easy-to-use platform with a detailed dashboard showing your leads and performance