McMahon, Aisling (2020) Patents, access to health and COVID-19 – The role of compulsory and government-use licensing in Ireland. Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 71 (3). pp. 331-358. ISSN 0029-3105

Preview

Download (301kB) | Preview

Abstract

As the race for effective vaccines/treatments for Covid-19 develops, attention has turned to how such vaccines/treatments will be accessed globally. Patents play a significant role in this context because they give the patent-holder the right to stop others using patented inventions. Patents are available on medicines/vaccines and could form significant access obstacles for Covid-19. Moreover, whilst many patent-holders may be willing to license health-technologies reasonably, others may not. Therefore, it is imperative that national governments ensure effective avenues exist to intervene with patent-holder discretion via compulsory and government-use licensing. This article focuses on the legal framework applicable in Ireland for such compulsory licensing interventions, interrogating the effectiveness of this framework in alleviating access issues posed by patents for Covid-19. It demonstrates how the current framework could be reformed to make it more effective in tempering patent-holder control, where needed, whilst remaining in compliance with Ireland’s international obligations.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	patents; COVID-19; compulsory licensing; government-use licence; service of the state; access to medicines;
Academic Unit:	Assisting Living & Learning,ALL institute Faculty of Social Sciences > Law
Item ID:	15655
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.53386/nilq.v71i3.870
Depositing User:	Aisling McMahon
Date Deposited:	09 Mar 2022 16:59
Journal or Publication Title:	Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly
Publisher:	SLS Legal Publications (NI), Faculty of Law, Queen's University
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

Repository Staff Only(login required)

Item control page

Downloads

Origin of downloads