Compulsory Licensing

IN NEWS:

• The Polit Bureau of the CPI (Marxist) said the government should issue compulsory licenses for the manufacture of a generic version of Remdesivir, an anti-viral drug being used to treat COVID-19 patients.

WHAT IS COMPULSORY LICENSING?

• Compulsory licensing is when a government allows someone else to produce a patented product or process without the consent of the patent owner or plans to use the patent-protected invention itself.
• It is generally issued when there is an emergency and the original patent holder cannot produce the product in required quantities or at justifiable price.
• It is one of the flexibilities in the field of patent protection included in the WTO’s agreement on intellectual property — the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement.
• Normal compulsory licenses can be granted for all types of products or technologies, provided the conditions in TRIPS agreement are met.
• The TRIPS Agreement does not specifically list the reasons that might be used to justify compulsory licensing and countries are free to determine the grounds for granting compulsory licences, and to determine what constitutes a national emergency.

PRELIMS QUESTION:

Q. Consider the following statements regarding “Compulsory licensing” with reference to intellectual property rights:

1. It is a practice prohibited under Trips agreement of WTO.
2. It can only be issued in the case of drugs required urgently.

Which among the above statements is/are correct:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to Prelims question