Compulsory Licensing

IP

A government-authorised licence allowing use of a patented invention without consent of the patent owner, typically for public health.

Sources

1. World Trade Organization — TRIPS and pharmaceutical patents fact sheet: compulsory licensing wto.org accessed 23 September 2026

The WTO defines it plainly: “compulsory licensing is when a government allows someone else to produce the patented product or process without the consent of the patent owner.” It adds a point that surprises people who go looking for the term in the treaty — “the term ‘compulsory licensing’ does not appear in the TRIPS Agreement. Instead, the phrase ‘other use without authorization of the right holder’ appears in the title of Article 31.” Compulsory licensing is only part of that category, because “other use” also covers use by governments for their own purposes. The WTO is also clear that the power is conditional rather than free-standing: it “can only be done under a number of conditions aimed at protecting the legitimate interests of the patent holder”. And though the debate is usually about medicines, the mechanism “could also apply to patents in any field”.

What this source settles. Where a government or an intergovernmental body is cited, the page is authoritative for the regime it administers and for the figures it publishes about itself. Where a standards body is cited, the entry names the body and describes the standard’s role, but quotes nothing from a text that is sold rather than published. In every case the operative document — the Act, the order, the manual, the issue of the standard your contract names — governs over any summary of it.

Related terms

• Copyright
• Data Exclusivity
• EUIPO
• European Patent Office
• Patent
• Trademark

From the AJG lexicon archive (July 2026).