An international panel of licensing executives from Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Canada will explain differences between compulsory licenses, voluntary licenses and waivers with respect to patent and other intellectual property rights and how these respective licenses waivers have local impact in the Americas.

For example, a compulsory license is one of the flexibilities in the field of patent protection included in the WTO’s agreement on intellectual property — the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement. Under the existing TRIPS provisions, normally the person or company applying for a compulsory license must have first attempted, unsuccessfully, to obtain a voluntary license from the right holder on reasonable commercial terms. Also, the most recently proposed WTO/TRIPS IP waiver of COVID-19 intellectual property goes beyond more traditional waivers (including under existing TRIPS provisions) in that the most recently proposed IP waiver would suspend not just patent rights but also copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs and trade secrets, and in this regard force businesses to disclose their trade secrets – which is a major sticking point for some businesses and some countries.

The panel will discuss approaches and considerations with various laws and requirements in their jurisdiction and considerations for companies and respective technologies, e.g., medicines, pharmaceuticals. Read about the Panelists/Moderator here.

Thank you to BC&B (Becerril, Coca & Becerril, SC) for sponsoring the meeting!

This event is free to participants.