COMPULSORY LICENSING IN RELATION TO PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR IN INDIA

Intellectual property rights can be defined as the rights given to people over the creations of their minds. They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of his/her creations for a certain period of time. Intellectual property rights are traditionally divided into two main categories: • Copyright and rights related to copyright: i.e. rights granted to authors of literary and artistic works, and the rights of performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organizations. The main purpose of protection of copyright and related rights is to encourage and reward creative work. • Industrial property: This includes (1) the protection of distinctive signs such as trademarks and geographical indications, and (2) industrial property protected primarily to stimulate innovation, design and the creation of technology. In this category fall inventions (protected by patents), industrial designs and trade secrets. Compulsory licensing is when a government allows someone else to produce the patented product or process without the consent of the patent owner. It is one of the flexibilities on patent protection included in the WTO's agreement on intellectual property — the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement. No. The patent owner still has rights over the patent, including a right to be paid for the authorized copies of the products. The TRIPS Agreement does not specifically list the reasons that might be used to justify compulsory licensing. However, the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health confirms that countries are free to determine the grounds for granting compulsory licences. In this paper we will be covering aspects which have played an important role in developing the concept of Compulsory Licensing in India, more specifically the instances where in the pharmaceutical companies prayed for the grant of Compulsory Licenses, emphasizing the importance of NATCO case in contribution to the literature of CL in India. Further, emphasis would be placed on various international treaties which govern this concept of Compulsory Licensing, and the legislation which deal with the same in India. No paper can be appreciated if it doesn't evaluate the pros and cons of the subject matter, hence the pros and cons of granting compulsory licenses would be evaluated by the authors in this research paper, and the personal views of the authors about the whole matter would follow towards the end of the paper. The methodology which would be used by the authors for the purpose of this paper would be solely doctrinal