This post was first published on 4th July, 2014.
Compulsory Licenses are licenses granted by the government or the patent office, irrespective of whether the patent holder gives consent to such a license. For most types of Compulsory Licenses, the granting authority fixes the royalty payable to the patent holder. Compulsory Licenses, with respect to patents, are of various types:
General Compulsory License – Granted for all types of inventions when certain predefined parameters are satisfied;
Compulsory License in National Emergency,…
Compulsory licensing cases and India have a peculiar relationship. They are in a way, soul sisters in the world of Intellectual property. Section 84 of the Patents Act, 1970 has always been the subject of intense debate. It hasn’t been very long since India issued its first ever compulsory licence to Natco Pharma, an Indian generic company, for Bayer’s blockbuster anti-cancer drug Nexavar (Sorafenib) in March 2012. Two other CL applications followed the Nexavar case, one relating to Roche’s Herceptin…