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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.
takyon: Allergan.
Previously: Allergan Pulls a Fast One
(Score: 4, Insightful) by bob_super on Thursday October 05 2017, @06:02PM (3 children)
> 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)
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)
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
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?