Were the Wright Brothers Patent Trolls? One View of R Street Institute's Capitol Hill Panel on Patents

The first problem with the arguments presented is the idea that patents are a form of government subsidy. The panelists from Engine and Niskanen repeatedly referred to patents as nothing more than a subsidy. Patents aren’t subsidies. Subsidies are grants the government gives to private companies, while patents more closely resemble contracts. They’re not gifts from the government but exchanges in which both parties provide value.