A STUDY ON COMPULSORY LICENSING IN THE TIME OF COVID-19

Abstract

The outbreak of a global pandemic has brought the entire world to a halt. It has handicapped every sector from businesses to the legal systems. However, one field that has been immune from it is the pharmaceutical sector. The need for a vaccine for the deadliest disease has made pharmaceutical companies work day and night to come up with a cure. The demand for the vaccine is extremely high given the alarming number of deaths every day. If a company comes up with a cure, they are going to ensure they take all the necessary measures in order to protect the drug under a patent. But given the pandemic situation where lives of millions of people are at stake, there is a need for intellectual property rights to be balanced out with public wellbeing. This is when the concept of compulsory licensing comes into play. The present paper aims to discuss the principles and provisions of compulsory licensing, the evolution of patent laws in India, position of the judiciary and the TRIPS agreement. It also highlights how compulsory licensing has been a blessing to some and a curse to some other. The paper then progresses into discussing how the concept of compulsory licensing comes into play during the COVID-19 outbreak, it also discusses what measures were taken during “emergency situations” or “pandemics” in the past.