TY - GEN AB - Against the backdrop of COVID-19, this Opinion essay proposes three ways to improve the European patent system without the need for legislative reform. Each has particular implications for drug patenting, and reflects an interpretive conception of law and legal legitimacy as requiring the application of legislation in accordance with moral values, including those expressed in constitutional instruments. If adopted, the proposals would: restrict the patentability of second medical indications and anchor assessments of inventive step more firmly to patent policy; expand assessments of the moral and public policy implications of patenting inventions and extend the disclosure duties of applicants; and adapt the FRAND licensing system to cover essential medical technologies. AU - Pila, Justine ID - 42104 KW - Inventive step KW - FRAND licensing KW - Essential medicines KW - Morality KW - Public policy KW - COVID-19 KW - Drug patenting LA - eng LK - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3627384 N2 - Against the backdrop of COVID-19, this Opinion essay proposes three ways to improve the European patent system without the need for legislative reform. Each has particular implications for drug patenting, and reflects an interpretive conception of law and legal legitimacy as requiring the application of legislation in accordance with moral values, including those expressed in constitutional instruments. If adopted, the proposals would: restrict the patentability of second medical indications and anchor assessments of inventive step more firmly to patent policy; expand assessments of the moral and public policy implications of patenting inventions and extend the disclosure duties of applicants; and adapt the FRAND licensing system to cover essential medical technologies. T1 - Reflections on a Post-Pandemic European Patent System TI - Reflections on a Post-Pandemic European Patent System UR - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3627384 ER -