Implementation of compulsory licensing provisions under trips in China: Balance between encouraging domestic innovation and wider access to patented drugs

The issue of compulsory licensing is one of the most controversial in the WTO Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ("TRIPS Agreement") and remains a topic of intense discussion and debate. However, most of the arguments raised in the debate, both for and against compulsory licensing, are generally from the perspective of either developed countries or developing countries, and ignore the specific situation of larger or more developed, developing countries, such as China and India. This thesis aims to unpack some of the pressing aspects of this debate, with specific application to China. I will argue that the Canadian experience in establishing a compulsory licensing system for drugs is relevant to China. In view of the recent Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health ("Doha Declaration"), and certain conflicts between developed and developing countries on its compulsory licensing provisions, it has become less of a risk for China to adopt the Canadian model and be accused of breaching TRIPS Agreement.