This paper discusses conditions under which a regional compulsory license (CL) regime can be
feasible and useful for African and Latin (especially) South American regional organizations. We
focus on the African Union (AU), the Southern African Development Community for Africa
(SADC) and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) for Latin America. International
legal patenting of medicines and vaccines have in certain instances negatively affected access
especially for the most vulnerable. Leaning on global constitutionalism we argue that regional
CLs can play a significant role in enhancing the social equity dimensions of international legal
patenting of medicines and vaccines. Our paper unveils the meaning of CL with the aim of
better understanding the specific needs served by a mechanism that derogates monopoly rights
of patent owners. It also considers the current state of affairs in terms of the use of such
licenses in countries of the two regions studied (Africa and South America). A canvass is painted
of the state of play of regional pharmaceutical policies with emphasis on the role accorded CLs
in them. Conditions under which a regional compulsory licensing regime would be deemed
successful are articulated with a clear appreciation of the challenges that can undergird their
unrestrained use.
