Why Compulsory Licensing Is A Blunt Instrument In The Post-Covid Landscape

Earlier this year the Turkish minister of health announced that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had made a compulsory licence decision about the active ingredient molnupiravir. In line with the fact that the decision was made directly by the president, it was understood that the provision of a compulsory licence due to public interest was applied. However, the patent owner was not notified of the presidential decision nor was it publicly accessible, so the terms, the licensee, the royalty fee and the scope of the decision remained unclear. Crucially, the patent owner himself was not given the opportunity to satisfy public need for molnupiravir under the conditions of the licence.

This is a harsh example of compulsory licensing provisions being used unfairly due to gaps and uncertainties in national law.