A safe harbour provides protection from legal liability, ensuring certain conduct or arrangements will not be subject to prosecution or penalties, promoting conduct within its boundaries.
Types:
- Patent safe harbours shelter use of patented inventions for research or regulatory approval purposes.
- Data protection safe harbours allow transfer of personal data to certain jurisdictions with adequate privacy laws.
Example:
Pharmaceutical researchers exploited the experimental use patent exemption within its narrow scope to accelerate generic drug market entry following intellectual property expiration.
Objectives:
By outlining objectively defined exceptions exempting defined conduct, safe harbours aim to balance public interests through reduced uncertainty that fosters innovation without compromising on enforcement where appropriate.