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How is this legal? Like I can put together a gizmo in my garage, never looking at Toyota, let alone signing a licensing agreement with them, but because I happen to duplicate their design I now am in a legally binding agreement with them? I really should invent something commonplace and then create a funky license for it like that.

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That’s what patents are.

I am not talking about patents being weird. Normally if I invent a thing and it turns out someone already invented it and patented it before me, I either don’t use it or pay royalties. But here we have a weird legal setup where instead of simply owing money to someone I can be compelled to do other shit. Is there a limit on it? Can patents enter into their portfolio retroactively? It is weird that a company who have never done business with can compel you to do certain things that have nothing to do with their IP.

Nothing about the existence of a no-fee licensing arrangement requires your automatic use of it. It's just normal patent infringement if you don't.

Nothing about the existence of a no-fee licensing arrangement disincludes the existence of a fee-based licensing arrangement which already exist, as well, no?

Yes, just as nothing about the existence of a no-free licensing arrangement dis-includes water from making you wet.

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