: Re: How can I safely use "Thalidomide" in my novel while respecting the trademark? Thalidomide is a tricky one, as I am referring to its disastrous past regarding birth defects; however, Thalidomide

@Shakeerah107

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Here is the entry for thalidomide in Merriam-Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (1983):

thalidomide n {phthalic acid + -id- (fr. imide) + -o- + imide} (1962) : a sedative and hypnotic drug C13H10N2O4 that has been the cause of malformation of infants born to mothers using it during pregnancy

What this entry means is that thalidomide is a generic name for a chemical compound—like aspirin. It isn't a proper name and therefore should not be capitalized.

According to the Wikipedia article on thalidomide, the drug was sold under the following trade names:

Contergan, Thalomid, Immunoprin, Talidex, Talizer, Neurosedyn, Distaval and many others

But if you use the generic term thalidomide, you aren't pointing to any specific brand sold during the 1950s (or later) and, again, you shouldn't capitalize the word.

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