6i4 
Editorial. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
(   September,  1920. 
Centaur  Company,  just  as  it  would  be  if  they  were  selling  salt  or 
sugar  under  the  names  "salt"  and  "sugar,"  respectively.  It  is 
axiomatic  that  a  name  cannot  at  one  and  the  same  time  perform  the 
function  of  a  brand  mark,  and  the  name  of  the  article  itself.  During 
the  life  of  a  monopoly,  no  matter  how  created,  whether  by  secret 
formula  or  patent,  only  one  brand  is  possible,  and,  therefore,  the 
name  given  to  the  product  can  only  distinguish  between  the  product 
itself  and  other  products  of  unlike  character.  But  when  the  monop- 
oly ceases,  either  by  the  disclosure  of  the  trade  secret,  or  by  the 
expiration  of  patent,  it  may  become  advisable  to  adopt  a  word  or 
mark  to  distinguish  between  the  original  brand,  and  other  brands 
of  the  same  article  on  the  market,  because  the  name  of  the  article 
itself  cannot  perform  that  function.  The  name  "salt"  cannot  dis- 
tinguish between  the  various  brands  of  salt  on  the  market,  and  the 
same  is  true  in  reference  to  the  name  "sugar."  And  now  that  the 
working  formula  for  the  production  of  castoria  (which  was  of  course 
published  by  the  inventor  in  his  application  for  United  States 
patent)  is  common  property,  any  person  has  a  right  to  manufacturer 
castoria  and  sell  it  as  castoria. 
Certain  trade  mark  lawyers  have  claimed  that  the  commercial 
introducer  of  a  new  product  can,  by  registering  the  name  given  such 
product  as  a  trade  mark,  secure  exclusive  ownership  of  such  name. 
On  this  hangs  the  entire  fabric  of  the  so-called  proprietary  medicine 
system.  Biit  this  is  an  absurdity:  The  logical  outcome  would  be 
to  force  each  manufacturer  of  an  unpatented  product  to  coin  a  new 
name  for  it  until  the  common  language  would  become  so  loaded  up 
with  synonyms  as  to  make  it  impossible  for  anybody  to  remember 
them.  It  would,  in  fact,  necessitate  a  library  building  as  large  as  a 
city  public  library  to  accommodate  the  dictionaries  required.  This 
is  illustrated  by  "hexamethylenamine"  for  which  there  are  already 
more  than  fourteen  synonyms  including  "aminoform,"  "urotropin," 
"cystamin,"  "cystogen,"  etc. 
"2.  That  the  respondents  have,  and  are  intending  to  infringe 
this  trade-mark." 
Comments. — If  the  American  Druggists'  Syndicate  is  using  and 
intends  to  use  the  name  "Castoria"  in  such  mannci-  as  to  deprive  the 
Centaur  Company  of  its  rights,  or  to  deceive  the  public,  then  this 
statement  of  Mr.  Justice  Duclos  is  in  accord  with  the  facts.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  it  is  using  the  word  "Castoria"  as  the  name  of  a 
product  which  is  common  property,  and  which  all  have  an  equal 
