What does compulsory patent licensing mean?

Compulsory patent license means that the patent administrative department in the State Council can directly allow other units or individuals to exploit their inventions or utility models under special circumstances or for special patents without the consent of the patentee in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

legal ground

Article 54 of the Patent Law shall come into force on June 1 20265438.

In case of national emergency or special circumstances, or for the purpose of public interest, the administrative department for patent in the State Council may grant a compulsory license to exploit a patent for invention or utility model.

Article 55

For the purpose of public health, the patent administration department of the State Council may grant compulsory licenses for the manufacture and export of patented drugs to countries or regions that meet the requirements of relevant international treaties to which People's Republic of China (PRC) is a party.

Article 56

Where a patented invention or utility model is a major technological progress with great economic significance compared with the invention or utility model of the previous patent, and its implementation depends on the implementation of the previous invention or utility model, the patent administration department in the State Council may grant a compulsory license to exploit the previous invention or utility model upon the application of the latter patentee.

Where a compulsory license is granted in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the administrative department for patent in the State Council may also grant a compulsory license to exploit the latter invention or utility model upon the application of the former patentee.