European Parliament and EU government negotiators reached an agreement on new legislation ensuring availability of crisis-relevant products, such as vaccines or chips, during emergencies. According to the new bill, the EU will be able to issue special permission for the production of patent-protected goods during cross-border emergencies, without needing the authorisation of the rights-holder. This would allow the immediate production, for example, of vaccines or therapeutics also by other companies than the one holding the patent.

This special permission, known as compulsory license, can be issued by the European Commission in clearly defined emergencies, such as a cross-border health crisis or internal market emergency, with specified scope, territorial coverage and duration. It would be used only as a last resort and only in cases where a voluntary agreement between rights-holder and licensee could not be reached. The new law will not apply to defence-related products. In the…