BALANCING EXCLUSIVE COPYRIGHT RIGHTS AND MARKET COMPETITION: REFUSAL TO LICENSE VS. COMPULSORY LICENSING
AUTHOR – ARYA VERMA, STUDENT AT NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY DELHI
BEST CITATION – ARYA VERMA, BALANCING EXCLUSIVE COPYRIGHT RIGHTS AND MARKET COMPETITION: REFUSAL TO LICENSE VS. COMPULSORY LICENSING, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (13) OF 2025, PG. 472-477, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344
Abstract
On the one hand, the two domains of intellectual property law and competition law have different ideas that are incompatible (intellectual property law and competition law are conflicting ideas, as they are diametrically opposite to each other). The justifications for granting intellectual property rights sometimes show that these rights are negative rights, as exemplified by John Locke’s labour theory of property or by Hegel’s personality theory, the conflict thus arising between intellectual property law and antitrust law. These exclusive rights allow the holder to act out of his monopoly and market power and to abuse his dominant position in the market for the benefit of the economy. Copyright is a bundle of rights that include economic, moral, and neighbouring rights. It can be communicated, adapted, reproduced, etc. Each of these rights could be assigned for copyright licensing and would authorize the licensee to use the copyrighted work in the manner specified in the agreement. If a person refuses to grant a license to use the rights in a work, although the terms of the contract are favourable, then such a refusal by the owner of the dominant position in the market amounts to an abuse of that position. This would not only stifle the development of the copyrighted work but also that of the economy, thus antithetical to the very idea of intellectual property rights. One way to deal with the problem is the institution of compulsory licensing, which is recognized in statutes and cases all over the world. The article will be devoted to the discussion of these concepts as well as the issues concerning the licensing of copyright and the refusal to grant a license. It will also be discussing the implications of such conduct as abuse of dominant position, the concept of compulsory licensing, and the agency of copyright in the area as future possibilities, plus the above discussion will be based on regulations and cases in India and around the world.
Keywords: Copyright Licensing, Dominant Position, Refusal to License, Compulsory Licensing.