Compulsory pharmaceutical patent licensing in Brazil: the controversy of public interest

摘要

Compulsory license cases worldwide indicate that every exception rule brings controversy, even when foreseen in international agreements and supported by national laws, especially when the terms and conditions are not consistently defined, leaving gaps for subjective interpretations, which dangerously affect legal security and may favor arbitrary decisions. Compulsory licenses have become a controversial issue in Brazil since the Federal Government, through the Health Ministry, issued decrees stating public interest on certain antiretroviral medicines in order to justify the compulsory licensing thereof during price negotiations with the patentees [201].