Euro Parliament proposes licence liberalisation

The European Parliament's trade committee has proposed liberalising a regulation on granting compulsory licences telling EU manufacturers to make generic drugs for developing countries facing health emergencies.

MEPs are concerned the European Commission has included too many administrative requirements preventing such licences being misused, branding them 'unnecessary' and 'likely to deter potential applicants from using the system'. The committee has, for instance, proposed that patent holders should have only 30 days to refuse an offer to make cheap drugs before a compulsory licence is issued, rather than 'a reasonable period of time', as originally proposed. MEPs also want Brussels to draft guidelines on compensating patent holders.