If the revenue they get from the patent makes the patent worth holding, then they wouldn't. And if they don't make 100k off of it, then maybe it's not worth hol

If the revenue they get from the patent makes the patent worth holding, then they wouldn't. And if they don't make 100k off of it, then maybe it's not worth holding the patent for longer? The example rises a bit steeper and starts lower than I would have suggested, but it seems reasonable to me. After all, the supposed point of patents is to make it commercially valuable to invest in research by giving you a guaranteed return if the research pays off. If you're not getting any money from your patent, then you're no worse off releasing it than sitting on it for nothing. But society will be better off if patents that aren't used are eliminated.