The sensible thing to do would be to abolish patents completely. Patents originated as a way to create incentive to publish inventions. We do not need patents

The sensible thing to do would be to abolish patents completely. Patents originated as a way to create incentive to publish inventions. We do not need patents for that purpose anymore. Today patents have the opposite effect: they stifle innovation. Yes, it would lead to several sectors having to restructure their business models since extortion and monopolism would no longer be viable business models, but then again, they shouldn't be allowed to be viable business models in a properly functioning market anyway. As for sectors such as pharma: It would be a huge win for humanity. If drug development was mostly funded by public money, there would be far better focus on developing the drugs we actually need rather than reinventing existing drugs just so you can patent them and price gouge. For instance, some classes of drugs, like antibiotics, are almost impossible to develop under the current circumstances because recovering cost is extremely hard. The only parties benefiting from patents are the biggest incumbents. For anyone who doesn't have extremely deep coffers they are at best vanity items, and at worst, a possible liability.