Patents and compulsory licensing
The Patent Act provides compulsory licensing measures to ensure that the patents do not impede the protection of public health and nutrition, and that the patent rights are not abused by the patentee. The compulsory licence therefore serves to strike a balance between two disparate objectives—rewarding patentees for their invention and making patented products, particularly pharmaceutical products, available to large populations in developing and underdeveloped countries at a cheaper and aff ordable price.
