Article 27

Article 27 – Limitations of the effects of a patent

The rights conferred by a patent shall not extend to any of the following:

a. acts done privately and for non-commercial purposes;

b. acts done for experimental purposes relating to the subject matter of the patented invention;

c. the use of biological material for the purpose of breeding, or discovering and developing other plant varieties;

d. the acts allowed pursuant to Article 13(6) of Directive 2001/82/EC(¹) or Article 10(6) of Directive 2001/83/EC(²) in respect of any patent covering the product within the meaning of either of those Directives;

e. the extemporaneous preparation by a pharmacy, for individual cases, of a medicine in accordance with a medical prescription or acts concerning the medicine so prepared;

f. the use of the patented invention on board vessels of countries of the International Union for the Protection of Industrial Property (Paris Union) or members of the World Trade Organisation, other than those Contracting Member States in which that patent has effect, in the body of such vessel, in the machinery, tackle, gear and other accessories, when such vessels temporarily or accidentally enter the waters of a Contracting Member State in which that patent has effect, provided that the invention is used there exclusively for the needs of the vessel;

g. the use of the patented invention in the construction or operation of aircraft or land vehicles or other means of transport of countries of the International Union for the Protection of Industrial Property (Paris Union) or members of the World Trade Organisation, other than those Contracting Member States in which that patent has effect, or of accessories to such aircraft or land vehicles, when these temporarily or accidentally enter the territory of a Contracting Member State in which that patent has effect;

h. the acts specified in Article 27 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation of 7 December 1944(³), where these acts concern the aircraft of a country party to that Convention other than a Contracting Member State in which that patent has effect;

i. the use by a farmer of the product of his harvest for propagation or multiplication by him on his own holding, provided that the plant propagating material was sold or otherwise commercialised to the farmer by or with the consent of the patent proprietor for agricultural use. The extent and the conditions for this use correspond to those under Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No. 2100/94(⁴);

j. the use by a farmer of protected livestock for an agricultural purpose, provided that the breeding stock or other animal reproductive material were sold or otherwise commercialised to the farmer by or with the consent of the patent proprietor. Such use includes making the animal or other animal reproductive material available for the purposes of pursuing the farmer’s agricultural activity, but not the sale thereof within the framework of, or for the purpose of, a commercial reproductive activity;

k. the acts and the use of the obtained information as allowed under Articles 5 and 6 of Directive 2009/24/EC(⁵), in particular, by its provisions on decompilation and interoperability; and

l. the acts allowed pursuant to Article 10 of Directive 98/44/EC(⁶).

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(¹) Directive 2001/82/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 November 2001 on the Community code relating to veterinary medicinal products (OJEC L 311, 28.11.2001, p. 1) including any subsequent amendments.

(²) Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 November 2001 on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use (OJEC L 311, 28.11.2001, p. 67) including any subsequent amendments.

(³) International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), “Chicago Convention”, Document 7300/9 (9th edition, 2006).

(⁴) Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 of 27 July 1994 on Community plant variety rights (OJEC L 227, 1.9.1994, p. 1) including any subsequent amendments.

(⁵) Directive 2009/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the legal protection of computer programs (OJEU L 111, 05/05/2009, p. 16) including any subsequent amendments.

(⁶) Directive 98/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 1998 on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions (OJEC L 213, 30.7.1998, p. 13) including any subsequent amendments.