Guide for the application and granting of compulsory licences and authorization of government use of pharmaceutical patents

Overview

patents - as well as other intellectual property rights - confer exclusive rights. This means that the title-holder may exclude competition in the manufacture and sale of the protected products and, therefore, control the production and distribution of such products and their prices.

The existence of patents on products or processes may prevent in some cases the acquisition of pharmaceutical  products at low prices or in sufficient quantities, such as when when products are offered at prices that are not affordable to patients or government purchasing agencies, or the patent owner has no capacity to timely deliver the needed products. In these cases, patent owners may exercise their exclusive rights and prevent supplies from alternative sources.