EU-wide compulsory licenses to patents – a semi-solution to a continued distortion of the internal market?

The Commission Proposal seeks to combat the geographical restrictions of national patent law, by granting the Commission the power to issue EU-wide compulsory licenses during an EU emergency. However, the Proposal is limited in its scope, causing the national barriers to otherwise persist when third parties seek to use a patent. Furthermore, the Proposal may also be controversial in an EEA-context. Thus, there is a risk of EU-licenses not being effective in the entire internal market. The presentation will also cover the current fragmented EU-legislation on compulsory licenses, particularly TRIPS in the EU.