Contemporary Stance of Compulsory Licensing in Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

Abstract

Patent is a monopoly given to prevent the patent holder's hard work from being wasted and to encourage innovation. In contrast, compulsory licensing occurs when a government authorizes a third party to use a patented product or method without the patent holder's approval under certain conditions. The Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, the Doha Declaration, and the Indian Patent Act of 1970 (herein referred to as ‘the Act’) contain provisions for the patenting of pharmaceuticals, as well as provisions for a compulsory licensing system to prevent patent rights misuse. In India, as well as the rest of the globe, there has been an imbalance between profits and medicine availability. Existing global structures were put to the test by the extraordinary period of time the human race endured as a result of COVID 19. The same was seen for the obligatory licensing arrangement for drugs under patent law. In this article, the authors proposed to discuss the existing legal system for Compulsory Licensing in India, followed by an examination of the TRIPS agreement's requirements. Further, the authors explained the status of compulsory licensing in COVID-19. Thereafter, the authors analyze the intersection of compulsory licensing with competition law and conclude with identified issues and recommendations.