Canada, Bill C-9

On May 14th, 2004, Bill C-9 received assent. Bill C-9 is an Act called An Act to amend the Patent Act and the Food and Drugs Act (Jean Chretien’s pledge to Africa) which was created to allow manufacture and use of patented drugs in developing countries afflicted by diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, etc, without patent infringement. Bill C-9 grants power to the Commissioner of Patents to authorize a person or entity to manufacture or use a patented invention for the sole purpose of using it directly for the manufacture of a pharmaceutical product or of selling it for export to one of the about 50 listed countries or WTO members. Exemptions under Bill C-9 are granted only for humanitarian and non-commercial reasons. An authorization granted under the Bill C-9 is valid for up to 2 years. Also, the authorized use is not exclusive and non-transferable unless the holder of the authorization is sold, assigned or otherwise transferred.