Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Law
Monetizing Tribal And State Sovereign Immunity In Patent Law: An Attempt To Neutralize The Patent Death Squad, Sean P. Belding
Monetizing Tribal And State Sovereign Immunity In Patent Law: An Attempt To Neutralize The Patent Death Squad, Sean P. Belding
Journal of Intellectual Property Law
On September 8, 2017, Allergan announced the assignment of six of its patents to the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe. These six patents protected Allergan 's exclusivity over the blockbuster drug RESTASIS and were at risk of invalidity due to an inter partes review proceeding. In return for substantial monetary consideration, the Mohawk Tribe granted Allergan an exclusive license back and agreed to invoke its tribal sovereign immunity in an attempt to obtain a dismissal of the inter partes review proceedings against the RESTASIS patents. Allergan's strategy is an attempt to monetize sovereign immunity that raises significant concerns in patent law …