3. Rights and Limitations of Patent Owner

RIGHTS CONFERRED BY A PATENT

A patent shall confer on its owner the following exclusive rights:

• Where the subject matter of a patent is a product, to restrain, prohibit and prevent any unauthorized person or entity from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing that product;
• Where the subject matter of a patent is a process, to restrain, prevent or prohibit any unauthorized person or entity from using the process, and from manufacturing, dealing in, using, selling or offering for sale, or importing any product obtained directly or indirectly from such process.

Rights of Joint Owners

If two or more persons own patent and invention covered thereby, each of the joint owners shall be entitled to personally make, use, sell or import the invention for his own profit. Provided, neither of joint owners shall be entitled to grant licenses or to assign his right, title or interest or part thereof without consent of other owner or owners, unless there is an agreement to the contrary.

LIMITATIONS OF PATENT RIGHTS

The patentee has no right to prevent third parties in the following circumstances:

• Using a patented product which has been put on the market in the Philippines by the owner of the product, or with his express consent, insofar as such use is performed after that product has been so put on the said market.

Note: With regard to drugs and medicines, the limitation on patent rights shall apply after a drug or medicine has been introduced in the Philippines or anywhere else in the world by the patent owner or by a party authorized to use the invention. The right to import the drugs and medicines shall be available to any government agency or any private third party.

• Where the act is done privately and on a noncommercial scale or for a non-commercial purpose, and the economic interests of the patentee are not significantly prejudiced;
• Where the act consists of making or using exclusively for experimental use of the invention for scientific purposes or educational purposes and such other activities directly related to such scientific or educational experimental use;
• In the case of drugs and medicines, where the act includes testing, using, making or selling the invention including any data related thereto, solely for purposes reasonably related to the development and submission of information and issuance of approvals by government regulatory agencies required under any law of the Philippines or of another country that regulates the manufacture, construction, use or sale of any product;
• Where the act consists of the preparation for individual cases, in a pharmacy or by a medical professional, of a medicine in accordance with a medical prescription or acts concerning the medicine so prepared; and
• Where the invention is used in any ship, vessel, aircraft, or land vehicle of any other country entering the territory of the Philippines temporarily or accidentally.

Note: Such invention must be used exclusively for the needs of the ship, vessel, aircraft, or land vehicle and not used for the manufacturing of anything to be sold within the Philippines.

A. Prior User

Any prior user, who, in good faith was using the invention or has undertaken serious preparations to use the invention in his enterprise or business, before the filing date or priority date of the application on which a patent is granted, shall have the right to continue the use thereof within the territory where the patent produces its effect. The right of prior user may only be transferred or assigned together with enterprise or business, or with the part of his enterprise or business in which use or preparations for use have been made.

B. Use by the Government

A Government agency or third person authorized by the Government may exploit the invention even without agreement of the patent owner where:

• The public interest, in particular, national security, nutrition, health or the development of other sectors, as determined by the appropriate agency of the government, so require; or
• A judicial or administrative body has determined that the manner of exploitation, by the owner of the patent or his licensee, is anti- competitive; or
• In the case of drugs and medicines, there is a national emergency or other circumstance of extreme urgency requiring the use of the invention; or
• In the case of drugs and medicines, there is a public non- commercial use of the patent by the patentee, without satisfactory reason; or
• In the case of drugs and medicines, the demand for the patented article in the Philippines is not being met to an adequate extent and on reasonable terms, as determined by the Secretary of the Department of Health.