European Union

Bahrain, Kingdom of

General

1. Please describe if your legislation includes measures necessary to protect public health and nutrition, and to promote the public interest in sectors of vital importance to your socio-economic and technological development as mentioned under Article 8 of the TRIPS Agreement. If yes, please explain how such measures are consistent with the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement.

As permitted under Article 27.2 of the TRIPS Agreement, Article 3(a) of the draft law on Patents and Utility Models excludes from Patentability inventions the prevention of the commercial exploitation, within the State of Bahrain, which is necessary to protect public order or morality or to avoid serious damage to the environment. Article 20 of the draft law on Patents and Utility Models provides that inventions with extreme importance to public defence and security may be objected to by the security authorities against the purchase of the invention for a fair and equitable price and also qualify for the grant of a compulsory licence for the exploitation of the invention in accordance with the provisions of the law. Also by virtue of Article 24 of the draft Law on Patents and Utility Models, a non-exclusive compulsory licence for the exploitation of a Patent may be awarded in cases of national emergency or other circumstance of extreme urgency or for public non-commercial use.