2025: Reverse-Payment Settlements Unleashed

The year is 2025. For the past two decades, brand-name drug companies have settled infringement lawsuits with generic firms by paying them to drop their patent challenges. Early in the 21^st century, courts had explained that this was the natural state of affairs. By 2025, this is true many times over.

This outcome traces back to 2005, when the Schering and Tamoxifen appellate courts upheld reverse-payment agreements. In the five years before that, drug firms had been more careful.