Patent thicket
Topic: International Trade Policy, WTO and Intellectual Property · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A patent thicket is a dense web of overlapping patents around one product. A competitor would have to clear or license many patents before selling its own version. This makes it costly to bring the product to market without infringing any patent. It can stretch a monopoly long after the core patent ends.
Example
Biologic drugs such as Humira are surrounded by many overlapping patents on formulations, manufacturing processes and uses. These have delayed cheaper rival versions.
Don't confuse with
- Evergreening: this means extending a monopoly with new patents on minor changes to the same drug. India's Section 3(d) blocks it unless the change shows enhanced therapeutic efficacy. A thicket is about the number and overlap of patents around one product.
- Patent pool: this is a voluntary joint licence that eases access.
Related concepts
- Intellectual property rights
- TRIPS
- Patent
- Evergreening of patents
- Pre-grant opposition
- Compulsory licensing
- Parallel import
- Data exclusivity
- TRIPS-plus provisions
- Patent pool