Adcock barred from using name of painkiller

Adcock Ingram has been barred by a court order from selling and distributing its newly launched painkilling drug, Lenbucod, which the high court in Pretoria found infringed Aspen’s Mybucod trademark rights.

Aspen took Adcock to court after the latter launched Lenbucod in January, arguing that the name was confusingly similar to Mybucod and amounted to a trademark infringement. Aspen registered it in 2008 and has been using it for 17 years.

Adcock Ingram has been barred by a court order from selling and distributing its newly launched painkilling drug, Lenbucod, which the Pretoria high court found infringed Aspen’s Mybucod.

The sparring between the two JSE-listed pharmaceuticals is the latest trademark battle in the industry, with companies increasingly taking legal action to protect their turf.

Aspen took Adcock to court after the latter in January launched Lenbucod — arguing that the name was confusingly similar to “Mybucod” and amounted to a trademark infringement.

Adcock opposed the application, contending that Aspen’s trademark was invalid and should not have been registered, as “Bucod” was allegedly a non-distinctive, descriptive term derived from the name of the active ingredients: ibuprofen and codeine.

The court dismissed Adcock’s argument, prohibiting the company from using “Lenbucod” or any confusingly similar mark in relation to the relevant goods, saying Aspen registered its trademark in 2008 and used it for 17 years without interference or challenge.

The court also ordered the destruction of all materials bearing the infringing mark, in a move that is likely to see Adcock bleed money.

“The example tendered by the respondents is inapposite in the present case. ‘Bucod’ is an entirely contrived term, the origin or meaning of which is not readily apparent without either the specialist knowledge of a pharmacist or competitor such as the respondent,” the judgment reads.

“It is highly unlikely that a consumer would over the last 17 years, and absent any similarly named competitor product, have made the association with the pharmacological ingredients rather than the applicants as the owners of the trademark and sellers of the product.”

Aspen is worth R54bn on the JSE, while Adcock is worth R8bn.