Ukraine to Introduce Research Exemption to Patent Law

On July 3, 2020, the Ukrainian President signed a law introducing amendments to several laws which aim to remove excessive bureaucracy and corrupt practices from the healthcare system. The law, which was adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament on June 2, 2020, amends, inter alia, the Law on Protection of Rights to Inventions and Utility Models by introducing the research exemption, according to which the use of patented inventions for performing research and tests for preparing regulatory approval does not constitute patent infringement.

This exemption is especially relevant to pharmaceutical companies, because it will allow generic manufacturers to prepare generic drugs in advance of the patent expiration, which is not currently possible under the Ukrainian legislation. It is expected that the introduction of the research exemption will reduce the monopoly power resulting from the patents granted to pharmaceutical companies for novel medicines and that it will enable smaller, local manufacturers to pursue their pharmaceutical development activities. Ukrainian pharmaceutical companies have tried to do this under the current legislation, but it has resulted in costly court hearings.

It is expected that the law will enter into force by early 2021. Once in force, it remains to be seen how the amendments introduced by the law will be executed in practice.

Prepared by: Valentyna Martynenko and Olga Kudoyar

For more information, please contact ukraine@petosevic.com.

Source: Ukrainian Parliament website