Trade names vs. generic names

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

I had been told in the past that all generic drugs names were written

in lower case only and that trade (or brand) names werwe written with

only the first letter capitalized. Is this correct? I'm asking

because I have seen on many different web sites and in some books

where the generic and brand names are both written with capital

letters and I am getting confused.

Thanks for the help.

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

While I definitely write my generics with a low case and the first letter of the

trade with an upper case, I also insert/add a circled R for registered trademaon

when typing on the computer .

HOWEVER you should KNOW that each mfg does it differently on the labels! Some

place the generic in non-bold while trade in bold, place the generic in

parentheses, place a TM or R by the Trade or TRADE, Trade in caps like TRADE or

in RED.

You can notice this if you work in a Rx and look at the stock. However if you

do not then place some generic and trade names of drugs one by one in google.com

and click on image to look at packaging and label. This should prove it to you.

Hope this helps you out...

Respectfully,

Jeanetta Mastron CPhT BS Chem

Founder/Owner

orangecat246 <orangecat246@...> wrote:

Hi all,

I had been told in the past that all generic drugs names were written

in lower case only and that trade (or brand) names werwe written with

only the first letter capitalized. Is this correct? I'm asking

because I have seen on many different web sites and in some books

where the generic and brand names are both written with capital

letters and I am getting confused.

Thanks for the help.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

The reason brand names are capitalzed when written and generic names are not

lies not in a pharmacy law but in the rules of basic English grammar. Brand

names of drugs are PROPER NOUNS and are always capitalized. Generic names are

common nouns and therefore do not require capitalization unless they are

beginning a sentence where the noun is capitalized regardless of the type of

noun it is. I've place a copy of a worksheet below to explain this further. If

you look further down the page you will see a section about trademark names.

This section would be the one that includes brand name or trademark name drugs.

Hope this helps.

Lynch-Brunozzi, CPhT

Textpert

This handout lists some guidelines for capitalization. If you have a question

about whether a specific word should be capitalized that doesn't fit under one

fo these rules, try checking a dictionary to see if the word is capitalized

there.

Use capital letters in the following ways:

• The first words of a sentence

example: When he tells a joke, he sometimes forgets the punch line.

• The pronoun " I "

example: The last time I visited Atlanta was several years ago.

• Proper nouns

(the names of specific people, places, organizations, and sometimes things)

examples:

Worrill Fabrication Company

Golden Gate Bridge

Supreme Court Livingston, Missouri

Atlantic Ocean

Mothers Against Drunk Driving

• Family relationships

(when used as proper names)

examples:

I sent a thank-you note to Aunt Abigail, but not to my other aunts.

Here is a present I bought for Mother.

Did you buy a present for your mother?

• The names of God, specific deities, religious figures, and holy books

examples:

God the Father

the Virgin

the Bible

the Greek gods Moses

Shiva

Buddha

Zeus

Exception: Do not capitalize the non-specific use of the word " god. "

example: The word " polytheistic " means the worship of more than one god.

• Titles preceding names, but not title that follow names

examples:

She worked as the assistant to Mayor Hanolovi.

I was able to interview Miriam Moss, mayor of Littonville.

• Directions that are names

(North, South, East, and West when used as sections of the country, but not as

compass directions)

examples:

The Patels have moved to the Southwest.

Jim’s house is two miles north of Otterbein.

• The days of the week, the months of the year, and holidays

(but not the seasons used generally)

examples:

Halloween

October

Friday winter

spring

fall

Exception: Seasons are capitalized when used in a title.

example: The Fall 1999 semester

• The names of countries, nationalities, and specific languages

examples:

Costa Rica

Spanish French

English

• The first word in a sentence that is a direct quote

example: Emerson once said, " A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little

minds. "

• The major words in the titles of books, articles, and songs

(but not short prepositions or the articles " the, " " a, " or " an, " if they are not

the first word of the title)

example: One of Ringo’s favorite books is The Catcher in the Rye.

• Members of national, political, racial, social, civic, and athletic groups

examples:

Green Bay Packers

African-Americans

Anti-Semitic Democrats

Friends of the Wilderness

Chinese

• Periods and events

(but not century numbers)

examples:

n Era

Great Depression Constitutional Convention

sixteenth century

• Trademarks

examples:

Pepsi

Honda IBM

Microsoft Word

• Words and abbreviations of specific names

(but not names of things that came from specific things but are now general

types)

examples:

Freudian

NBC

pasteurize UN

french fries

--

To love what you do and feel that

it matters - how could anything

be more fun? -- Graham

.. . . for my heart rejoiced in

all my labour . . . Ecclesiastes

2:10

-------------- Original message --------------

Hi all,

I had been told in the past that all generic drugs names were written

in lower case only and that trade (or brand) names werwe written with

only the first letter capitalized. Is this correct? I'm asking

because I have seen on many different web sites and in some books

where the generic and brand names are both written with capital

letters and I am getting confused.

Thanks for the help.