The changing face of Class 5

The globalIP framework needs to be made more resilient to challenges to its integrityduring times of extraordinary circumstances such as a pandemic, say Clarivate’sRobert Reading and David Marques

RobertReading and David Marques, Clarivate

When the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and EuropeanUnion Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) published their annual trademarkapplication figures for 2020, ¹ it was perhaps unsurprising, at firstglance, to see that there was significant growth in the volume of Class 5trademark applications, covering pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, giventhe context of the Covid-19 pandemic.