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Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - Singapore

Title:Sections 55-57 and 60 of the Patents Act No. 21 of 25/11/1994 as of 01/12/2008
Field of IP:Patents
Type of flexibility:Compulsory licenses and government use
Summary table:PDF

Provisions of Law

Compulsory licences

55.-(1) Any interested person may apply to the court for the grant of a licence under a patent on the ground that the grant of the licence is necessary to remedy an anti-competitive practice.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the court may determine that the grant of a licence is necessary to remedy an anti-competitive practice if -

(a) there is a market for the patented invention in Singapore;

(b) that market -

(i) is not being supplied; or

(ii) is not being supplied on reasonable terms; and

(c) the court is of the view that the proprietor of the patent has no valid reason for failing to supply that market with the patented invention, whether directly or through a licensee, on reasonable terms.(3) Subject to this section, if the court is satisfied that the ground referred to in subsection (1) is established, the court may make an order for the grant of a licence in accordance with the application upon such terms as the court thinks fit.(4) A licence granted under this section -

(a) is not exclusive; and

(b) shall not be assigned otherwise than in connection with the goodwill of the business in which the patented invention is used.(5) Any licence granted under this section may, on the application of any interested party, be terminated by the court where the court is satisfied that the ground upon which the licence was granted has ceased to exist and is unlikely to recur.(6) Where a licence is granted under this section to any person, the person shall pay such remuneration to the patentee as may be agreed, or as may be determined by a method agreed between the person and the patentee or, in default of agreement, as is determined by the court on the application of the person or the patentee.(7) The powers of the court on an application under this section shall be exercised with a view to securing that the inventor or other person beneficially entitled to a patent shall receive reasonable remuneration having regard to the economic value of the licence.

(8) No order shall be made in pursuance of any application under this section which would be at variance with any treaty or international convention relating to patents to which Singapore is a party. Use of patented inventions by Government and authorised parties

56.-(1) Subject to sections 60, 61 and 62, but notwithstanding any other section of this Act, the Government and any party authorised in writing by the Government may do anything in relation to a patented invention -

(a) for a public non-commercial purpose; or

(b) for or during a national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency, and anything done by virtue of this section shall not amount to an infringement of the patent.(1A) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), subject to sections 60, 61 and 62, but notwithstanding any other section of this Act, the Government and any party authorised in writing by the Government may import any relevant health product, and do anything in relation to any relevant health product so imported, for or during a national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency, if the Government has given the Council for TRIPS a relevant notification in relation to the relevant health product.(2) For the purposes of this section and section 57 -

(a) any use of an invention for the supply to the government of any country outside Singapore, in pursuance of any agreement or arrangement between the Government of Singapore and the government of that country, of articles required for the defence of that country shall be deemed to be a use of the invention for a public non-commercial purpose; and

(b) the power of the Government or any party authorised by the Government to do anything in

accordance with this section shall not, in the case of a patent relating to an integrated circuit,

extend to sale of the invention to the public.(3) The purchaser of any article sold in the exercise of the powers conferred by this section, and any person claiming through the purchaser, shall have power to deal with it in the same manner as if the patent were held on behalf of the Government.(4) In this section -

"integrated circuit" means a product, in its final or an intermediate form, in which the elements, at least one of which is an active element, and some or all of the interconnections are integrally formed in and on, or in or on, a piece of material and which is intended to perform an electronic function;

"relevant notification" means a notification that satisfies the requirements of -

(a) paragraph 2(a) of the Doha Declaration Implementation Decision; or

(b) paragraph 2(a) of the Annex to the TRIPS Agreement. Rights of third parties in respect of Government use

57.-(1) In relation to -

(a) anything done in accordance with section 56 by the Government or any party authorised in writing by the Government; or

(b) anything done to the order of the Government -

(i) for a public non-commercial purpose; or

(ii) for or during a national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency, by the proprietor of a patent in respect of the patented invention or by the proprietor of an application for a patent in respect of the invention for which the application has been filed and is still pending, the provisions of any licence, assignment or agreement to which this subsection applies shall, subject to sections 60, 61 and 62, be of no effect so far as those provisions restrict or regulate the working of the invention, or the use of any model, document or information relating to it, or provide for the making of payments in respect of, or calculated by reference to, such working or use.(2) The reproduction or publication of any model or document in connection with the said working or use shall not be deemed to be an infringement of any copyright or design right subsisting in the model or document.(3) Subsection (1) shall apply to any licence, assignment or agreement which is made, whether before or after 23rd February 1995, between (on the one hand) any person who is a proprietor of or an applicant for the patent, or anyone who derives title from any such person or from whom such person derives title, and (on the other hand) any person other than the Government. Nature and scope of rights under section 56.60.-(1) The right to use a patented invention under section 56 -

(a) is not exclusive;

(b) shall not be assigned otherwise than in connection with the goodwill of the business in which the patented invention is used; and

(c) is, notwithstanding subsection (2) (a) of section 56, limited to the supply of the patented invention predominantly in Singapore by the Government or a party authorised by the Government under that section.(1A) The right under section 56 to use a relevant health product which is imported under section 56(1A) does not include a right to export the relevant health product.(2) The right to use a patented invention under section 56 may, on the application of any interested party, be terminated by the court, where the court is satisfied that the circumstances that gave rise to the right to use the patented invention have ceased to exist and are unlikely to recur.(3) Where the court has terminated the right under section 56 to use a patented invention, the court may make such consequential orders as it thinks necessary.

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