Welfare effects of compulsory licensing

Welfare reducing licensing

In this paper, we characterize situations where licensing an innovation to a rival ...rm using two-part tari¤ contracts (a ...xed fee plus a linear per unit of output royalty) reduces social welfare. We show that it occurs if and only if i) the goods are close enough substitutes, ii) the innovation is large enough but not drastic and iii) the ...rms compete in prices. Moreover, we show that, re...

Compulsory licensing of technology and the essential facilities doctrine

We look at compulsory licensing of intellectual property as remedy for anti-competitive practice. We identify aspects of intellectual property that warrants a different remedy from those using general definitions and remedies for essential facility. Based on the analysis, we present a characterisation of optimal compulsory licensing for a simple market. ∗Department of Economics, University of A...

Compulsory licensing of generic drugs remains mired in quagmires.

The goal was straightforward and highly-laudable: find ways of providing access to cheaper, generic versions of patented drugs in developing countries to combat public health crises resulting from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria or other epidemics. Yet, nearly a decade after global agencies began to pave the way for developing countries to buy or manufacture patented medicines at low prices to ...

Compulsory savings in the welfare state

According to a widely held belief, compulsory savings are justified on efficiency grounds because they alleviate the following free rider problem: if the welfare state grants a minimum income to older persons, some of the young may find it optimal not to provide for retirement. The literature argues that compulsory savings can be used in order to overcome this problem. However, potential free r...

Compulsory Licensing and Access to Medicine in Developing Countries