They could force patent holders to licence out their invention in case of emergency, such as a food shortage. Situations in which compulsory licences could help to overcome such crises seldom occur, however. A compulsory licence may also be requested in order to exploit a later patented invention. Applied to the Agracetus case it would mean that an imaginary third organization must use a technique covered by Agracetus patent in order to exploit its own invention. Whether or not compulsory licences limit patent monopolies in such cases is not clear.
Parties involved are inclined to negotiate privately on compensation matters.
The fact that the option of compulsory licensing is seldom used may indicate that firms are able to reach agreements. Industrial doubts about broad patents Biotechnologists and their legal advisors now also seem to realize that the scope of protection of some recently issued patents is not in accordance with the scope of the invention. In the European Intellectual Property Review some of them have recently mentioned an industrial dilemma. On the one hand, it is difficult for lawyers to criticize the sweeping patents openly, as corporate interests force the lawyers to seek maximum protection. Moreover, criticism from the private sector would be grist for the mill of those pressure groups who oppose the patenting of living material in general.