Compulsory licensing allows governments to grant licenses to use patents and copyrighted works without the owner's consent to prevent monopoly abuse. International laws, such as the Paris and Berne Conventions, provide frameworks for compulsory licensing, while India's Patent Act outlines specific grounds and procedures for applying for such licenses. The aim is to ensure public access to inventions, especially in fields like food and medicine, by allowing licensees to work patented inventions under regulated conditions.

1. COMPULSORY LICENSING
VISHNU GM
2014-09-111

2. • Compulsory licenses are licenses that are granted by a government
to an individual or company seeking to use patents, copyrighted
works or other types of intellectual property, to do so without
seeking the owner's consent.
• Compulsory licenses-involuntary contracts between a willing buyer
and an unwilling seller imposed or enforced by the state.
• The individual or company granted compulsory license have to pay
the owner a set fee for the license.
• Objective of granting compulsory license is to prevent the abuse of
monopoly granted.
• Nations currently have the right to issue compulsory licenses on
patents and copyrights.

3. Compulsory licenses under International
Law
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property :
•The purpose of the Paris Convention was to establish a system for inventors
to protect their inventions internationally.
•Article 5
•The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property states "each
contracting state shall have the right to take legislative measures providing
for the grant of compulsory licenses to prevent the abuses which might
result from the exercise of the exclusive rights conferred by the patent, for
example, failure to work."
• Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic
• Works-Article 11bis(2) and Article 13(1) provide the legal basis for
compulsory licensing at international level.

4. Compulsory licenses under
International Law
• TRIPS - Trade related aspects of intellectual property
• •The World Trade Organization provisions on intellectual
• property.
• •Contains rules on patents, copyrights and trademarks.
• •Compulsory licenses and a number of restrictions on the use
• of compulsory licenses-Article 31 of TRIPS.
• India is a party to above international agreements for the
• protection of intellectual property that have provisions
• regulating compulsory licensing

5. Compulsory Licenses and Patents
• The grant of a patent gives its owner (patentee) a limited period of
exclusivity where the patentee can prevent others from practicing the
patented invention.
• This limited period of exclusivity affords the patentee control over the
invention’s price and, in turn, gives the patentee a mechanism by which
he/she can regain research and development costs.
• This right to exclusivity is enforced in most countries by the judicial
system, with the unauthorized manufacture, use, sale, offer to sale, or
import of a patented technology deemed to be infringement.
• The government has the power to revoke or limit a previously
granted exclusive patent right.

6. Compulsory licensees take away the patentee’s exclusive
control over the patented technology.
• Specific terms vary from country to country,
• Three basic situations:
(1) where a dependent patent is being blocked: Where a patented
invention (‘dependent patent’) cannot be worked without exploiting an
earlier patented invention (‘original patent’), the owner of the
dependent patent generally must obtain a license over the original
patented invention.
• (2) the patent is not being worked, or
• (3) the invention relates to food or medicine

7. Compulsory Licensing of Patent in India
• The objective of Patent Grant in India is to ensure that the inventions
are worked in India on a commercial scale and to the fullest extent
without any undue delay.
• Any interested person after expiry of three years from grant of
patent, may make an application to the Controller for grant of
compulsory license on the grounds that: (a) the reasonable
requirements of the public with respect to the patented invention have
not been satisfied, or (b) the patented invention is not available to the
public at a reasonable price, or (c) the patented invention is not worked
in territory of India. [Section 84(1) of Patent Act, 1970]
• The controller may grant compulsory license if the above conditions
are satisfied upon such terms as he may deem fit.

8.  While granting the compulsory license the Controller shall take into
account - the nature of invention, time elapsed, ability of applicant to
work the invention, applicant’s efforts for obtaining a license on
reasonable terms. [Section 84 (6)]
 Above not applicable in certain cases-
(i) national emergency, or
(ii) extreme urgency, or
(iii) public non-commercial use, or
(iv) on establishment of a ground of anti competitive practices adopted
by the patentee

9. Terms and conditions of Compulsory License
[Section 90 (1)]
• (i) royalty and other remuneration, if any, reserved to the patentee, or
other person beneficially entitled to the patent.
• (ii) Patented invention should be worked to the fullest extent
• by the person to whom the license is granted.
• (iii) Patented article should be made available to the public at reasonably
affordable prices.
• (iv) License granted is a non-exclusive license.
• (v) The right of licensee is non-assignable.
• (vi) License is for the balance term of the patent unless a shorter term is
consistent with public interest.

10. India’s First Compulsory License of Patents:

11. Case overview

12. Thank you