Can Compulsory Licensing Improve Access to Essential Medicines?
21 Pages Posted: 23 Apr 2008
Date Written: March 11, 2008
Abstract
This manuscript addresses how developing countries can maximize access to essential medicines and minimize unwanted side-effects within the legal environment of a compulsory license regime. This paper offers various solutions that developing nations can implement that would improve consumer access without costly expenditures or foreign aid. This paper concludes that, while compulsory licensing can play a role in improving public health, external social and political conditions must be considered in order to make licensing an effective practice.
Keywords: patent, intellectual property, compulsory licensing, pharmaceuticals, developing country
JEL Classification: O34, L65, F20
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation