Patent assetization and the construction of legal arguments: Analysis of Colombia's Dolutegravir compulsory license

This article examines Colombia's 2024 compulsory license for Dolutegravir, an HIV medication. The objective is to underscore how patent assetization informed the legal argumentation contesting the compulsory license. To this end, the article connects the dots between the characterization of patents as assets, discussions on patent valuation, and the legal debate over Dolutegravir's economic value in determining compensation for its authorized use. The research method combines documentary and theoretical analysis within the framework of Law and Political Economy. The article demonstrates that dominant practices and discourses in financialized capitalism, such as discounting, enable the construction of legal arguments for valuing patented medicines based on the revenue streams they can generate. This, in turn, makes compulsory licensing dependent on viewing patented medicines as revenue-producing property, meaning that proper compensation for any authorized use must meet patent holders' commercial expectations. Accordingly, the right to health in cases of compulsory licensing is subordinated to the perpetuation of the appropriation of value as rent.