Compulsory licensing of patents in Ecuador. A brief analysis of pharmaceuticals and Presidential Decree 118

Abstract

The patent license is mechanism that allows the exploitation of the invention that may arise from the will of the licensor in agreement with the licensee or may result from an act of the Public Administration. In the second case, both Andean regional regulation as our intellectual property law, contain specific grounds that are aligned with the doctrine and international treaties, by which the State can grant compulsory patent licenses. In this regard it is necessary to deeply analyze them as a mechanism to prevent the abuse of intellectual property rights and safeguard legitimate public interests. In Ecuador, the pharmaceutical sector specifically, through Presidential Decree 118, has been the focus of attention, because it gives to the State the power to grant compulsory licenses for pharmaceuticals under the settled legal parameters.