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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday October 05 2017, @04:51PM   Printer-friendly
from the three-card-monte dept.

Members of Congress want answers about a multinational drug company's deal to save its patents by handing them off to a Native American tribe.

Last month, Allergan gave the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe six patents that protect Restasis, the company's blockbuster eye drug. The goal is a sophisticated legal strategy to avoid having the US Patent Office proceed with a process called inter partes review, which is a kind of quasi-litigation in which opponents of a patent can try to have them revoked. Lawyers for Allergan are hoping that the principle of sovereign immunity, in which Native American tribes are treated as sovereign nations in certain ways, will protect their patents from government review.

The strategy may well succeed. IPR proceedings against patents held by public universities have been canceled on at least two occasions, when the Patent Trial and Appeals Board held that the universities benefit from sovereign immunity because they are state actors. The St. Regis Mohawk tribe will be paid an annual royalty of $15 million as long as the patents are valid.

The move is a legal maneuver to avoid challenges to their patent.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/10/congress-will-investigate-drug-company-that-gave-its-patents-to-mohawk-tribe/

takyon: Allergan.

Previously: Allergan Pulls a Fast One


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 05 2017, @05:04PM (13 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 05 2017, @05:04PM (#577523)

    Yet another big business looking to skirt the law using complex loopholes. We the people, keep getting fucked five ways from friday by these sons of bitches yet somehow it's always the fault of Trump, Obama, liberals, conservatives, illegals, terrorists, or $BoogeyManOfTheDay. It's all about money and how much you can fuck everyone over for it. These SOB's are bribing both sides and lobbying like hell: https://www.followthemoney.org/entity-details?eid=9904 [followthemoney.org]

    I sincerely hope that congress actually does something to curtail these lazy corporate cheaters.

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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by DannyB on Thursday October 05 2017, @05:21PM (10 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday October 05 2017, @05:21PM (#577529) Journal

    I find your lack of faith disturbing.

    Congress will definitely do something about it. It might not result in any new laws. But you can bet that some how, some way, money will flow into the pockets of congress critters. If Allergan is making billions of dollars a year on this drug, congress is going to want its cut. Under the table is preferred so it is not taxable.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 2) by meustrus on Thursday October 05 2017, @05:56PM (9 children)

      by meustrus (4961) on Thursday October 05 2017, @05:56PM (#577548)

      Too bad there isn't a mod for -1 Cynical.

      ...mainly because politicians care about influence more than money. That kind of corruption is illegal and provable, but influence peddling is much harder to track.

      --
      If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
      • (Score: 4, Insightful) by bob_super on Thursday October 05 2017, @06:02PM (3 children)

        by bob_super (1357) on Thursday October 05 2017, @06:02PM (#577550)

        > That kind of corruption is illegal and provable

        Campaign contributions are unlimited.
        Leftover campaign funds can be pocketed.

        Drug companies are just exercising their First amendment rights, mmmkay?

        • (Score: 2) by meustrus on Thursday October 05 2017, @07:12PM (2 children)

          by meustrus (4961) on Thursday October 05 2017, @07:12PM (#577581)

          But they already contribute to the campaign. Congress shaking them down is more likely to make them contribute less, not more.

          --
          If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
          • (Score: 4, Insightful) by bob_super on Thursday October 05 2017, @07:32PM (1 child)

            by bob_super (1357) on Thursday October 05 2017, @07:32PM (#577594)

            Whoa! "Congress will investigate", is nowhere near "congress passed a law declaring the bastards will be punished for screwing everyone".

            Companies which feel threatened by a Congress investigation, are Free to ... exercise their First Amendment right ... to encourage individual key Congress members to use their very precious time on more important policies in dire need of support. Contributing less does not help Congressmen pivot to these other issues.

            • (Score: 2) by meustrus on Friday October 06 2017, @03:09PM

              by meustrus (4961) on Friday October 06 2017, @03:09PM (#578045)

              It's a little too late for that now. An investigation isn't going to result in anything more than the media storm that's already happening (and potentially find other violations like the FDA found with the "how cute, love on the ingredients list" company). Clearly there are other, better-funded priorities to ignore.

              --
              If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
      • (Score: 4, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 05 2017, @06:15PM (4 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 05 2017, @06:15PM (#577557)

        Shouldn't that be +1 Cynical?

        • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday October 05 2017, @08:37PM (1 child)

          by bob_super (1357) on Thursday October 05 2017, @08:37PM (#577621)

          I'm hoping they use at least 32-bit integers in the code, if we start being allowed to rate posts as "Cynical"...

          Maybe-future-feature question (to TMB, as usual): What about listing all the mods a comment gets, rather than whatever fancy algorithm currently decides the sum of Funny+Insightful+Touche+troll to be? I've got a very wide browser window, so I wouldn't mind a long title showing all the types of mods some comments get.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 05 2017, @09:34PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 05 2017, @09:34PM (#577649)

            It would be nice, maybe a show/hide button. Clicking the comment ID to load a new page just to see moderation history is kinda lame.

            @bob, I'm pretty sure the fancy algorithm is a complex combination of plus and minus. +5 interesting, that's a mighty big minus isn't it?

        • (Score: 3, Touché) by mhajicek on Thursday October 05 2017, @08:44PM (1 child)

          by mhajicek (51) on Thursday October 05 2017, @08:44PM (#577625)

          +i Cynical.

          --
          The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 05 2017, @09:30PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 05 2017, @09:30PM (#577647)

    Of course they won't, even if some other big players feel like this is bullshit they will support them because next it could be THEM on the chopping block. Sorta like the thin blue line.

    I propose a new phrase, "The Thin Red Line" which symbolizes how corporations collude against the people. Red of course symbolizing corporate profits.