Compulsory Licensing in the Age of COVID-19
INTRODUCTIONS:
A ‘patent’ can be defined as the title granted to protect an invention, whether it may relate to a product or a process. This title grants certain exclusive rights to the patent holder. Yet, the exclusivity and monopoly provided by these rights can often lead to its misuse. The most common example of its misuse can be seen in the pharmaceutical sector, wherein the patented medicines are sold at exorbitant prices, thereby making them out of reach for large sections of the society. Therefore, in reply to such abuse of patents, there exists a solution in the form of compulsory licensing.
A compulsory licence is most commonly defined as an involuntary contract between a willing buyer and an unwilling seller imposed and enforced by the State.[1] There are generally two kin...