Research On The Implementation Of Compulsory Licensing Of Pharmaceutical Patents In China

The patent system has promoted the innovation and development of the pharmaceutical industry,but it also has brought about problems such as high drug prices and the imbalance between supply and demand caused by patent monopoly.The conflict between the interests of drug patentees and public health interests is becoming more and more acute.How to deal with the relationship between drug patents and public health is not only the design of legal system,but also the basic value orientation of the whole human society.After years of interest game,compulsory licensing system of drug patents has become an important legal means to prevent abuse of rights and protect public interests.This is the result of the alleviation of the public health crisis urged by countries all over the world.Also,it is established based on the internal logic of the value of the patent system.Especially in the face of periodic outbreaks of infectious diseases,public has given high expectation on the compulsory licensing system of drug patents.Up to now,many countries in the world have issued compulsory licensing of drug patent,effectively coping with the social problems of disease treatment and epidemic spread.These measures are helpful to prevent the developed countries’ technology monopoly and patent blockade.The compulsory patent licensing system had significant changes,influenced by the TRIPS.In China,the framework of the patent law has been constructed after many adjustments of laws and regulations.Facing the severe public health situation,China’s application of compulsory licensing system of drug patent has both legal basis and practical needs.By the analysis of the practical experience of overseas compulsory licensing system of drug patent,there is no precedent for compulsory licensing system of drug patent in China.There are two reasons for this: the one is that the domestic legal provisions and system design need to be improved,and the other one is that the issuance of compulsory licensing of drug patents is facing great international pressure.Firstly,in today’s international trading framework,intellectual property protection is closely linked to national economic interests.For developed countries with a large number of high-value pharmaceutical patents,patent protection is extremely important to maintain their technological and economic dominance.The implementation of compulsory licensing system of drug patent is not in line with the interests of multinational pharmaceutical enterprises and their countries.At the same time,the implementing countries are likely to be subject to trade sanctions.Secondly,drug patent protection is becoming increasingly stringent in the world.Taking advantage of virtue of bilateral and regional economic agreements,developed countries have promoted the development of strong protection of drug patents.In this way,the developing countries find it hard to apply the flexible provisions in the TRIPS which include compulsory licensing.In addition,China is currently in the transition period of building an innovative country,and the development of innovation and intellectual property rights has entered a new stage.China has the needs of ensuring drug supply,maintaining public health and relying on patent driven innovation as well as innovation driven development.It is supposed to not only reduce the high price of patented drugs to achieve affordable drug costs and guaranteed medical demand,but also create a safe and stable legal environment for drug research and development to attract domestic and foreign investment and promote industrial innovation.For compulsory licensing system of drug patent,China should adopt the attitude of careful and good use.For the sake of public interests,it is of practical significance to implement compulsory licensing system of drug patent when China is in a public health crisis or in a state of emergency.Also,to solve the problem of drug,the government needs to balance a number of objectives of policy and consider whether compulsory licensing system of drug patent is in line with the development requirements and overall interests of our country at this stage.On the one hand,it is necessary to improve the implementation of China’s compulsory licensing system of drug patent,in combination with the actual situation.On the other hand,it can be seen that a compulsory licensing system of drug patent is not the only way to solve public health problems.The interests between drug patents and public health should be properly balanced,by exploring multi-channel drug problem-solving paths.