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Patent filings directed to sports nutrition continue to generally grow year over year. The trend is particularly pronounced on a global scale.<\/p>\n
The increase in patent filings (through 2016) of sports nutrition products has been occurring outside the United States, with a large portion of filings in China. Brazil and Russia, which are not usually on the top filer lists, have weighed in with a significant amount of patent filings specifically associated with sports nutrition.<\/p>\n
Sports nutrition ingredients may be formulated into food products, such as modified foods or complete food formulations. Alternatively, specialized ingredients may be incorporated into single or multi-ingredient nutritional supplements. To be patentable, these types of formulations must include a unique non-naturally occurring single ingredient or a previously unknown combination of ingredients, among other innovative features.<\/p>\n
Trademarks for sports performance products include some expected terms like \u201csport,\u201d \u201cperform,\u201d\u00a0\u201cstrong\u201d and \u201cfast.\u201d Since these terms are common, they cannot be registered in trademarks on their own. Common terms and variations thereof must be coupled with more distinctive terms to obtain trademark registration.<\/p>\n
Careful consideration is required to determine if a particular combination is available. Trademark availability searches from trademark counsel can help find a potential trademark that does not encroach upon the rights of a third party\u2019s trademark.<\/p>\n
Finally, a steady increase in the term \u201cperformance\u201d may indicate the sports nutrition performance field is still growing. Opportunities still exist for innovative products and brands to carve out their exclusive rights in an exciting area of nutritional products.<\/p>\n
This is an excerpt from the article, \u201cIntellectual property trends in sports nutrition.\u201d To read the complete article, download the\u00a0Sports nutrition: Performance<\/a>\u00a0digital magazine.<\/p>\n