Patent medicine

A patent medicine is a product that is promoted and sold as a medical cure, but that does not provide the promised relief. Patent medicine is a misnomer because, although the product might be trademarked, it is not patented (the patenting process requires proof that the product does something useful). In ancient times, the term was nostrum remedium ("our remedy" in Latin).

Patent medicines were one of the first major product categories that the advertising industry promoted; patent medicine promoters pioneered many advertising and sales techniques later used for other products. Patent medicine advertising often promoted the advantages of exotic ingredients, which the products seldom contained. For example, sellers of liniments claimed to contain snake oil and falsely promoted as a medical panacea – made the snake oil salesman a lasting symbol for a charlatan.

Patent medicines and advertising

The phrase "patent medicine" comes from the late 17th century marketing of medical elixirs, when those who found favour with royalty were issued letters patent authorising the use of the royal endorsement in advertising. Few if any of the nostrums were actually patented; chemical patents did not come into use in the United States until 1925. Furthermore, patenting one of these remedies would have meant publicly disclosing its ingredients, which most promoters sought to avoid.