EU-Initiative zu Zwangslizenzen – Chance oder Wettbewerbsnachteil? Arzneimittel & Recht, 2022

In an article just recently published in the journal Arzneimittel & Recht (Edition 03/22) Dr Gisela Grabow and Dr Marco Stief discuss the grant of compulsory licenses under patent law. In the context of the Corona pandemic and the development and delivery of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, this topic has been gaining increasing importance, and little by little has also become the subject of lively discussion among patent law experts. The article first looks at some key features of IP protection in the context of EU innovation policy and current EU initiatives, then at the relevant European and international regulations. The authors take some country-specific legal provisions as examples to illustrate how compulsory licenses may be granted. Then the pros and contras of a harmonized EU-wide system, or EU legislation, to coordinate the grant of compulsory licenses, giving due consideration to the practical implications from the EU law perspective are, discussed. In the same context, possible alternatives to compulsory licenses are discussed.

Table of contents