Compulsory license bill introduced in the US House of Representatives

Representative Sherrod Brown from the great State of Ohio has introduced a bill “to provide for compulsory licensing of certain patented inventions relating to health care emergencies.” (H.R. 4131).

Are compulsory licenses an issue in the United States?  You better believe it.  Remember, following 9–11 and the subsequent Anthrax scares, the Bush administration considered invoking an existing compulsory license provision of federal law for Ciprofloxacin, the Bayer antibiotic that is approved for treatment of Anthrax infections.