Canadian bill would ease way to compulsory licenses of Covid-19 products

"In response to the pandemic, Canadian lawmakers have passed a bill that would speed the process of issuing compulsory licenses for medical products, adding to a list of countries seeking to ensure access to medicines and devices, among other items.

A country may grant such a license to a public agency or a generic drug maker, allowing it to copy a patented medicine without the consent of the brand-name company that owns the patent. This right was memorialized in a section of a World Trade Organization agreement known as the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or TRIPS.

Actually, Canadian law already permits the government to issue a compulsory license, but the bill would essentially speed the process by allowing the country to move much faster to secure a license in the event of a public health crisis. Rather than the undergoing the usual process of haggling with a company over terms, the government could simply issue a license and negotiate compensation later (see part 12)...."