Compulsory Licensing in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Compulsory Licensing takes place when the government permits a third party to carry out the same rights as the right holder without his consent. The constant debate and opposing views between developed countries and developing countries with respect to compulsory licensing is something which needs to be taken into consideration. Developing countries are of the view that compulsory licensing would help to overcome the unaffordability of medicines and their unavailability. While on the other hand developed countries have an opposing view as they feel that it would be disadvantageous for innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. Compulsory Licensing helps in resolving the conflict of interest between two parties thereby ensuring develop and fair returns. The system of compulsory licensing in the pharmaceutical industry allows the conflict to be resolved by a third party which is a neutral party and in the end having the same aim to increase the universal access to life saving drugs globally. Thus in this situation compulsory licensing is the most important safety valve, it helps to address the modern healthcare conflict between patients versus patents. With the help of this paper, the author intends to address the existing legal regime which exists for Compulsory Licensing in India followed by analysing the provisions present in the TRIPS agreement. The problem which arises is with monopolising right which are available to patent holders, this makes it harder to meet the demand if the supply is high. The author also intends to emphasise on the possibility of the Indian government to permit compulsory licensing to other manufactures thereby increases the supply of the vaccines and meeting the demand. Lastly, the author aims at providing a 360 degrees view point of Compulsory Licensing in India and suggestions for its improvement.