Abuse of patent law in the pharmaceutical field through the issuance of "evergreen patents": problems and legislative initiatives

Abstract

The article is devoted to the issues of abuse of patent rights in the pharmaceutical field through the issuance of "evergreen patents" and the consequences of such infringements. In modern realities, life poses serious challenges to medicine, in particular, the preservation of man as a species and the search for new formulas for cures for existing diseases. Therefore, each country faces the task of improving existing technologies that will make human life easier. In this context, an important tool is the regulatory framework as a regulator of public relations. Ukrainian law and international treaties provide conditions for the legal protection of intellectual property, but in the field of medicine and pharmacy, the objects of the invention acquire a slightly different meaning, becoming in the hands of unscrupulous innovators a tool for speculation. This state of affairs leads to the monopolization of leading pharmaceutical companies, restricting people's access to appropriate drugs or services, slowing down economic development and scientific and technological progress in Ukraine. We analyzed the provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On Protection of Rights to Inventions and Utility Models" on the issuance of compulsory licenses, namely the procedure for obtaining them in the context of the global coronavirus pandemic. Legislative initiatives on the regulation of intellectual property in the field of pharmacy are considered. In particular, it concerns the conditions of patentability of medicines and the possibility of appealing a patent application by any person whose rights have been violated. In addition, the range of issues that need to be refined to ensure the transparency of the procedure for obtaining a patent for a medicinal product, the impossibility of abuse of patent rights and market entry of new, more affordable drugs.