GOOD FAITH IN TRIPS COMPULSORY LICENSING OF PHARMACEUTICAL PATENTS: LESSONS FROM PREVIOUS PANDEMIC CASES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25041/lajil.v3i2.2349Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the world of patents as countries prepared their legal frameworks to ease the process of compulsory licensing. Nations like India and South Africa went further by proposing a suspension of patents necessary to combat COVID-19, which was still under discussion. A patented drug effective against COVID-19 could see compulsory licensing in many countries where its patent holder was conducting business. This article discussed compulsory licensing as an essential issue by examining its legitimacy, previous cases of compulsory licensing, and the conduct of states in cases of compulsory licensing issuance, particularly looking at examples from Thailand, Brazil, and India. The article examined remedies against compulsory licensing, including the theoretical possibility for the constitutional review of treaties that included international and domestic measures, both litigation and alternative measures. This qualitative research regarded both primary and secondary legal sources, which results revealed that a combination of the soft law power of the Doha Declaration and the invocation of subsequent compulsory licensing cases supported the pillars of compulsory licensing practice. However, the practice of compulsory licensing, both by the patent holder and the state actors, was not entirely conducted in good faith according to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) 1969 and the TRIPS Agreement. Hence, such patent holders needed to have adequate comprehension of both international and domestic remedies, especially the possibility for constitutional review of treaties remedies.
Keywords:
Compulsory licensing, COVID-19, International, TRIPS AgreementReferences
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