Compulsory Licensing In India Amidst The COVID 19 Pandemic: Will India Consider It?

The COVID-19 pandemic has truly exposed the frailty of our infrastructural systems. Innovation has taken a front seat and the world is keenly awaiting the public distribution of COVID-19 vaccines which would help restore normalcy.  Among the numerous factors that were taken into consideration by global experts with respect to the COVID 19 vaccines, accessibility and distribution issues have taken the forefront. This, along with other factors concerning patent legislation, have put developing nations in a precarious position, pushing them to be calculative of their infrastructure, economic conditions and to evaluate their channels to mass manufacture the vaccines while deliberating the issues associated with the patentability of the COVID-19 vaccines. Before exploring the various nuances of compulsory licensing, it is important to understand the benefits of a pharmaceutical patent. A pharmaceutical patent would allow pharmaceutical conglomerates to acquire royalties,