Canadian patent laws for pharmaceutical products may have to be changed following a successful challenge through the World Trade Organisation.
A WTO disputes panel upheld a European Union complaint that Canadian patent law broke the international Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS) by allowing manufacturers to make and stockpile generic versions of patented medicines so that they could be released to market as soon as patents expired.
The panel ruled that the stockpiling exemption was a substantial curtailment of the exclusionary rights required by TRIPS for patent owners.
However, the panel dismissed another European complaint over the right of Canadian companies to seek prior marketing approvals for drugs covered by patents, ruling that it fell within the agreement.
Canada could appeal, but if it loses again, it will be forced to reform its laws, or face retaliatory trade measures sanctioned by the WTO.