On the request of any person made after the expiration of a period of four years from the priority date of the patent application or three years from the date of the grant of the patent, whichever period expires last, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment may grant a non-voluntary license if,
- the patented invention/utility solution is not worked or is insufficiently worked in the country; and
- the requesting person can prove his ability to work the patented invention/utility solution in the country; and
- the owner of the patent has received a demand from the requesting person to obtain a contractual license, but the requesting person has been unable to obtain such a license on reasonable terms and within a reasonable time without receiving justified grounds from the owner of the patent.
Non-Voluntary License Based Upon Interdependence of Patents
On the request of the owner of a patent ("later patent"), the licensee of a license contract under the later patent or the beneficiary of a non-voluntary license under the later patent, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment may grant a non-voluntary license if,
- if the invention/utility solution claimed in the later patent cannot be worked in the country without infringing a patent granted on the basis of an application benefiting from an earlier filing or, where appropriate, priority date ("earlier patent"); and
- the owner of the earlier patent has received a demand from the requesting person to obtain a contractual license, but the requesting person has been unable to obtain such a license on reasonable terms and within a reasonable time without receiving justified grounds from the owner of the earlier patent.
Non-Voluntary License in Public Interest
On the request of any person or organization, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment may grant a non-voluntary license if the working of the patented invention/utility solution is considered necessary to meet the demand of the national defence, security, public health or other vital public interest.
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