Patent Licensing

A patent is a right granted to the owner to stop others from using his invention without his consent for making, using, selling or offering for sale his patent. Therefore, only on mutually agreed terms can other parties use the creator's patented invention and this gives rise to the concept of licensing. Licensing is a legal tool through which the patent rights can be transferred to any person who wishes to work the invention at any time before the expiry of patent. Through this, the patent owner authorizes the person (licensee) to utilize the patent rights upon agreed conditions.

Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (Trips)

The Doha Conference 2001 of WTO declared the necessity of giving priority to public health over IPR. It was decided in that conference that the countries have right to protect public health and provide cheap medicines and the member countries could decide on their own the terms and conditions for providing compulsory license.