WTO會員設定強制授權事由的權限：以維也納條約法公約之解釋原則分析飛利浦CD-R專利特許實施事由與TRIPS的相容性

The Competence of a WTO Member in Determining the Grounds for Compulsory Licensing: The Compatibility of the Ground for Triggering Compulsory Licensing on Philips' CD-R Patents with the TRIPS Agreement in Light of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

倪貴榮(Kuei-Jung Ni)

《臺大法學論叢》 39卷3期 (2010/09) Pp. 369-434

https://doi.org/10.6199/NTULJ.2010.39.03.08

摘要

我國專利法規定在無法以合理之商業條件達成授權協議時，可構成強制授權之事由。基此情事，我國智慧財產局乃將荷蘭飛利浦擁有的數項CD-R專利，強制授權給臺灣製造商，此舉引起飛利浦強烈的抗議；在經過調查後，歐盟執委會發布報告，指摘此舉違反我國在WTO/TRIPS項下的義務。目前WTO尚未審理有關強制授權的爭訟，此事件提供了研究該政府措施是否與TRIPS相容的機會，以理解WTO會員適用強制授權機制的限制。
本案牽涉諸多法律議題，而本文將以本案為基礎，研究WTO會員在TRIPS下是否具有自行決定強制授權事由，包括本案的授權事由的權限。
本文首先對TRIPS強制授權制度作概括說明；並論述我國相對應的內國法律以及據以對飛利浦專利強制授權的過程與背景。在檢視歐盟和我國對此議題的論述和可能立場之後，將依據維也納條約法公約所揭示的習慣法解釋原則，即以此為分析工具，進一步檢驗和評價可能用以支持雙方觀點的解釋要素和權威。

關鍵字

世界貿易組織 ； 與貿易相關之智慧財產權協定 ； 強制授權 ； 可錄式光碟專利 ； 維也納條約法公約 ； 杜哈智慧財產權協定與公共健康宣言 ； 合理之商業條件

並列摘要

The Taiwan Patent Act specifies the failure to reach a reasonable commercial term as one of the grounds to grant a compulsory license. In effect, several CD-R patents owned by a Dutch land company, the Philips, were licensed to a local Taiwan company as a result of a decision made by the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office. The governmental action has aroused a severe protest from the licensed company. Consequently, the European Commission issued an official report, accusing the decision of violating Taiwan's commitments under the TRIPS agreement of the WTO. Currently, no single dispute regarding the grant of compulsory licensing has been brought to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body. The event provides an opportunity to study the TRIPS-consistency of such a governmental action with a view to comprehending the limit of WTO members in applying the mechanism of compulsory licensing.
As the event involves several critical issues, this Article aims at studying if a WTO member has the competence to determine the grounds for compulsory license, including such a ground applied by the Taiwanese authority in the dispute in question.
This Article is designed to analyze how the presumptive case would be adjudicated by the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. This Article will begin to review the regulations of compulsory license under the TRIPS and the Taiwanese law incorporating the system. The background and process of granting a compulsory license on Philips' patents will also be revealed. The study then will review the arguments and reasoning of both the European Union and Taiwan. Mainly relying on customary interpretation rules embodied in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, this Article endeavors to examine and evaluate the legal implications and effect of relevant interpretative elements and authorities that are likely to sustain the arguments of either party.

並列關鍵字

WTO ； TRIPS ； compulsory licensing ； CD-R patents ； VCLT ； Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health ； reasonable commercial terms

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