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Article 82: The Minister may, at the patent holder’s request and after hearing the parties,
modify the terms of the decision authorizing the exploitation of the patented
invention insofar as a change in circumstances warrants such modification.
Article 83: The Minister shall put an end to the compulsory license, at the patent holder’s
request, if he is convinced that the circumstances which led him to take his
decision have ceased to obtain and shall not reoccur or that the State service or
third party appointed by him has failed to respect the terms of the decision.
Article 84: The compulsory license may only be transferred with the firm or goodwill of this
person or with the part of the firm or goodwill within which the patented
invention is exploited.
Article 85: The compulsory license shall always be non-exclusive. As a result, it shall not
prohibit:
- exploitation of the invention by the patent holder himself, either by
manufacturing in Burundi, by import, or by both means;
- signature of licensing contracts by the patent holder;
- continued exercise, by the patent holder, of the rights granted to him.
Article 86: A request for a compulsory license must be addressed to the Minister
responsible for trade.
It must be accompanied by proof indicating that the patent holder has refused to
grant the applicant a contractual license on reasonable conditions and procedures
and within a reasonable time frame.
Save in exceptional circumstances, the maximum period shall be six months
between the date on which the patent holder was informed of the request for a
voluntary license and the date on which the applicant was informed by the patent
holder of the final decision to reject the proposal.
Article 87: Evidence of an attempt to obtain a voluntary license, as defined by Article 86,
shall not be required in case of a national emergency or in other situations of
extreme urgency, in case of non-commercial public use or if the license is
granted to remedy a practice that has been recognized as anti-competitive at the
conclusion of judicial or administrative proceedings.
Notwithstanding, in such a case, the patent holder must be informed of the
decision taken.
Article 88: Exploitation of the invention by the State service or the third party to
which/whom the Minister has granted a license must be primarily aimed at
supplying the market in Burundi, unless the compulsory license concerns a
patent relating to a pharmaceutical product or a manufacturing process for a
pharmaceutical product, provided that no other process for manufacturing the