Compulsory licensing: international practice and problem aspects of national legislation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35774/app2024.03.021Keywords:
compulsory licensing, limitation of intellectual property rights, international practice, problems of legislative regulationAbstract
The role of intellectual property is important nowadays, especially in the matter of protecting its objects. After all, if innovations are unprotected, they can be used by competitors who have the opportunity to commercialize them. Today, low- and middle-income countries often face problems related to intellectual property, in particular, due to insufficient awareness of it, as well as the high cost of application patents, as well as weak protection of rights and weak research and development, etc.
The world today is oriented towards an economy based on knowledge, production of goods and services, which is caused by a wide range of innovations. New products, designs, brands emerge thanks to intellectual activity and innovation. If they are left unprotected, they can be used by competitors who may have the appropriate potential for their scaling and commercialization. Therefore, the role of intellectual property protection is increasing.
At the same time, the legal doctrine and legislation of many countries, including Ukraine, support the position according to which compulsory licensing for the protection of health and saving people's lives can be applied, in particular, to medicinal products. Because medicines are protected by a patent, they often increase in price by about 60-70%, which makes them unaffordable. And in countries where the population is below the poverty line, as a result of the impossibility of buying medicine, mortality increases, which is why the Agreement on Trade Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPs) was adopted by the international community. Using the flexibility of the TRIPs legal rules, the G7 countries can promote the development of technology in low- and middle-income countries to help them solve the problems and exploit the related intellectual property opportunities.
The purpose of the article is to investigate the peculiarities of the application of compulsory licensing as a type of limitation of intellectual property rights, to find out the possibilities of adopting the experience of foreign countries for domestic practice, to identify problematic aspects and ways of improving the legislation of Ukraine in the specified area.
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