PTMG 89th Conference, Chicago October 8th - 11th The Multi-Faceted Personality of a Pharmaceutical Trade Mark Rigel Moss McGrath, W.P.Thompson & Co. Chicago has been described as "perhaps the most typically American place in America" and so what an inspired choice by the PTMG Committee to host the 89th PTMG conference, visiting the USA for only the second time in its history. If any of the attendees were feeling the effects of a longer journey than usual, there were no signs of it as we gathered in the ballroom of The Drake Hotel to greet old friends and make new ones at the Welcome Reception on Wednesday evening. the need to balance the requirements of trade mark applications and regulatory approval) but where registration is treated simply as the recognition of rights acquired by common law , as in the USA, obtaining registration becomes more challenging. There is a clear advantage to be exploited by the brand owner that can base their application on an earlier regis- between regulatory authorities, each has its own considerations. Interesting too was the contrast between the trade mark application and FDA name approval systems, the first being a 'first to use' whilst the second is a first to register system. Christopher Hanes tration elsewhere, rather than use in the USA; but of course under US law the requirement for 'use' affects all stages of the life cycle of a trade mark registration at some point the owner will have to provide specimens of use and Christopher provided helpful examples of what is likely to satisfy. Finally Christopher introduced a theme that was picked up throughout the conference, namely the conflict between national trade mark offices and regulatory bodies, which apply different tests to assess the availability and approval of trade marks. A clear (and robust) strategy is required to navigate corresponding applications to a successful outcome for the client. Kellie Taylor Sophie Bodet On Thursday morning our Chairman Sophie Bodet introduced and thanked the Committee members and welcomed the attendees, including more than 100 'first timers', many from the pharma industry. The conference had been fully booked at an early stage but Sophie assuaged any concerns that the Committee had plans to make the conferences 'bigger'. So many members appreciate the very 'manageable' size of the event and this reassurance was welcomed. PTMG conference presentations are renowned for their quality and relevance and this year did not disappoint at all, beginning with the Founder's Lecture. Created to honour and celebrate the founding of the organisation by Derek Rossitter, who unfortunately was unable to attend this conference, each year a young and rising lawyer is selected to present the Founder's Lecture. This year that honour fell to Christopher Hanes, Senior Counsel for GSK, who provided a comprehensive overview of the historical and current challenges specific to the requirement for 'use' of pharmaceutical trade marks in the USA. The registration of these marks can be difficult in any territory (with very lengthy lead times and Kellie Taylor's review of recent developments in the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) approval of proprietary names provided an excellent insight into a system that was surely unfamiliar to many in the audience - and yet it became quite clear that it is important for attorneys to understand its workings if we are to provide truly comprehensive advice on the registrability of pharma trade marks. One would expect the examination process to be stringent, but it was still fascinating to be led through the complex layers of analysis applied to each proposed name, including of course searches of drug names used outside the US. Whilst there is some international cooperation 7 Gail Karet, Rafaella Balocco Matavelli and Antoinette Lachat made up the panel of experts that provided a set of lively, informative and entertaining presentations and discussions. Rafaella really brought the subject of non-proprietary names to life in her presentation on the WHO INN Programme. We were an unusual audience to consider the selection process for non-proprietary names - names that belong to everyone and through which they cannot make money! However the INN programme does not work within a vacuum and pharma companies necessarily need to work with it from a marketing perspective in respect of which there appears to be a settled approach of "they do their business and we do ours." Gail provided a very practical overview of the Gail Karet