Let's phrase it this way: what do you gain from pretending the PATENTS file isn't legally binding? The BSD license contains no patent grant. You'd be on very t

Let's phrase it this way: what do you gain from pretending the PATENTS file isn't legally binding? The BSD license contains no patent grant. You'd be on very thin ice expecting a court to rule that the BSD copyright license also implies a patent grant. And in this specific case that defense would likely never hold because the PATENTS file even if it weren't binding would signal the intent.