State Intellectual Property Office, Measures on Compulsory Patent Licensing

Promulgated: March 15 2012
Effective: May 1 2012
Interpreting authority: State Intellectual Property Office

Main contents: These Measures regulate the granting of, royalty rulings for, and termination procedure for, compulsory licences for invention patents and utility model patents (Compulsory Licences) (Article 1).

Article 5 of the Measures states that if the exercise by a patentee of its patent rights is found in accordance with the law to be a monopolistic act, an entity or individual that satisfies the criteria for exploiting the patent may petition for the granting of a Compulsory Licence pursuant to Item (2) of Article 48 of the PRC Patent Law in order to eliminate or reduce the adverse effect that such act has on competition.

In the case of a state emergency or exceptional circumstance, or in the public interest, a relevant competent department of the State Council may, pursuant to Article 49 of the PRC Patent Law, propose that the State Intellectual Property Office grant a Compulsory Licence to an entity designated by it that satisfies the criteria for exploiting the patent (Article 6).