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Merck And Merck Slug It Out For The Name

Litigation: German company wins a round in a court battle over international use of Merck Name

by Alex Scott
January 25, 2016 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 94, Issue 4

A decades-long tussle between Germany-based Merck KGaA and U.S.-based Merck & Co. over rights to the Merck name is intensifying.

In a recent legal battle between the two firms, England’s High Court has upheld Merck KGaA’s claim that Merck & Co. has been infringing its trademark rights by using the Merck name in the U.K. The court also ruled that Merck & Co.’s use of the Merck name on its global websites is directed at the U.K. and so is illegal. The ruling follows three years of litigation.

“This decision reflects one step in a litigation process taking place in a number of countries and will be appealed,” Merck & Co. says. The U.S. firm now says it is suing Merck KGaA “regarding their improper use” of the Merck name in the U.S. for activities that include “cybersquatting.”

Confusion over the name is a recurring issue for the firms. In recent years, the two Mercks have been mixed up on Facebook, and protesters have even turned up to protest at offices of the “wrong” Merck.

The firms made an agreement in 1955, amended in 1970, that Merck KGaA is entitled to use the name Merck everywhere in the world apart from Canada and the U.S. Merck KGaA is known in North America as EMD; Merck & Co. is known outside of Canada and the U.S. as Merck Sharp & Dohme, or MSD.

The U.S. Merck was established as a subsidiary of Merck KGaA in 1891. The U.S. government confiscated it from its German owners during World War I, and it has operated as a separate company ever since.

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