The Medicinal Mandate: Legal and Policy Implications of Compulsory Licensing on Patented Pharmaceuticals in the European Union to Encourage Access to Medicine during Cross Border Health Crises

Abstract: Patented pharmaceuticals limit medicine access; Compulsory Licensing bridges the gap between Intellectual Property Rights and the Right to Health. The COVID-19 Pandemic sparked debates on medicine access and prompted legal revisions for improved systems. The European Union strives to enhance Intellectual Property Rights and Human Rights, yet current Compulsory Licensing has flaws that hinder medicine access. Respectively, this thesis investigated the efficiency of Compulsory Licensing in the European Union and proposed legal and policy implications to enhance access to medicine during cross-border health crises. This has been carried out with a normative legal method with the support of relevant material such as legal documents and legislations, case law, and scholarly articles. The thesis addressed the need for more harmonization between its Member States, a shaky foundation offered by connecting legal considerations and import and export concerns. It proposed establishing a harmonized and stable framework at the Union level, granting the European Union the authority to generate a Union-based Compulsory Licensing. It emphasized the importance of considering leading factors, such as a more unified patent system and crisis management strategies at the Union level, and improving import and export processes under Compulsory Licensing by setting legal grounds with the ultimate goal of access to medicine within any geography where accessibility is vital.