Patents are an important part of freedom. Being able to keep the fruits of your labor is a sign of a healthy economy. Now folks have figured out a way to “game” the system.
On September 8, 2017, the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company Allergan announced that it “sold” its patents relating to its eye drops “Restasis” to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe. But this was not a usual “sale.” The Tribe doesn’t appear to have paid anything in exchange for becoming the legal owner of Allergan’s patents. Instead, Allergan paid the Tribe $13.75 million, and also agreed to pay the Tribe up to $15 million more each year in exclusive licensing fees.
In other words, Allergan just paid out millions to give its patents away, and will pay millions more to license them back.
Why would a company pay a Native American tribe to take ownership of patents? Simple: to make those patents harder to invalidate. Read more here.