Section 24: Non-voluntary licences

24. Non-voluntary licences (1) Upon request made to the Controller after the expiration of a period of 4 years from the date of filing of the patent application or 3 years from the date of the grant of the patent, whichever period expires last, the Controller may issue a non-voluntary licence if he is satisfied that the patented invention is not exploited or is insufficiently exploited, by working the invention locally or by importation, in Mauritius. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a non-voluntary licence shall not be issued if the owner of the patent satisfies the Controller that circumstances exist which justify the non-exploitation or insufficient exploitation of the patented invention in Mauritius. (3) The decision issuing the non-voluntary licence shall fix— (a) the scope and the function of the licence; (b) the time limit within which the licensee must begin to exploit the patented invention; and (c) the amount of the adequate remuneration to be paid to the owner of the patent and the conditions of payment. [Issue 1] P4 – 15 Patents, Industrial Designs and Trademarks Act (4) The holder of the non-voluntary licence shall— (a) have the right to exploit the patented invention in Mauritius according to the terms set out in the decision issuing the licence; (b) commence the exploitation of the patented invention within the time limit fixed in the said decision; and (c) thereafter, exploit the patented invention sufficiently. (5) Where— (a) the invention claimed in a patent (“later patent”) cannot be exploited 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 (b) the invention claimed in the later patent involves an important technical advance of considerable economic importance in relation to the invention claimed in the earlier patent, the Controller, upon the request of the owner of the later patent, may issue a non-voluntary licence to the extent necessary to avoid infringement of the earlier patent. (6) Where a non-voluntary licence is issued under subsection (5), the Controller, upon the request of the owner of the earlier patent, shall issue a non-voluntary licence in respect of the later patent. (7) In the case of a request for the issuance of a non-voluntary licence under subsections (5) and (6), subsection (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis with the proviso that no time limit needs to be fixed. (8) In the case of a non-voluntary licence issued under subsection (5), the transfer may be made only with the later patent, or, in the case of a nonvoluntary licence issued under subsection (6), only with the earlier patent. (9) The request for the issuance of a non-voluntary licence shall be subject to payment of a prescribed fee. (10) Section 23 (2) to 23 (12) shall apply mutatis mutandis to a nonvoluntary licence issued under this section.