Patent Act Article 87May 1, 2019

Grounds for compulsory licensing

In response to national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency, the Specific Patent Agency shall, in accordance with an emergency order or upon notice from the central government authorities in charge of the business, grant compulsory licensing of a patent needed, and notify the patentee as soon as reasonably practicable.

The Specific Patent Agency may, upon request, grant compulsory licensing of a patent under any of the following circumstances for which it is deemed necessary:

1. where a patented invention is to be exploited non-commercially for the enhancement of public interest;
2. where a later invention or utility model patent cannot be exploited without infringing upon a prior invention or utility model patent, and where the later invention or utility model patent involves an important technical advancement of considerable economic significance in relation to the prior invention or utility model patent; or
3. where a patentee has committed acts restricting competition or has committed unfair competition acts, for which a judgment has been made by a court of law or a decision has been rendered by the Fair Trade Commission of the Executive Yuan.

Request for compulsory licensing of a patent involving semiconductor technology shall be filed based on the grounds set forth in Subparagraph 1 or 3 of the preceding paragraph. "Request for compulsory licensing of a patent made pursuant to Subparagraph 1 or 2 of Paragraph 2 may only be approved if the requestor has made efforts to obtain authorization from the right holder on reasonable commercial terms and conditions, and that such efforts have not been successful within a reasonable time period.

Where a request for compulsory licensing of a patent is made pursuant to Subparagraph 2 of Paragraph 2, the owner of the prior patent may propose reasonable terms and conditions and seek grant of compulsory licensing of the later patent owned by the requestor.

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