Well, society gets a say. Witness how both Canada and India have invalidated pharma patents, and how the US DoD is permitted to nullify patents when it suits them for strategic purposes [1].

Also, the US government can infringe on a patent with limited resource of the patent holder.

"Can the U.S. Government Infringe a U.S. Patent? (The U.S. Government Says it’s Impossible)"

"Although a patentee can sue the U.S. government for unlicensed use of its invention, Congress requires that those cases be filed in the Court of Federal Claims (CFC) rather than in district court. No jury trial is available, and the only remedy is a reasonable royalty." [2]

I think its a bit defeatist to throw your arms up in the air and say "there is no hope, big companies will always win", but I'm an optimist.

[1] https://www.wired.com/2013/04/gov-secrecy-orders-on-patents/

[2] https://patentlyo.com/patent/2015/09/government-infringe-imp...

"The students involved in the Hands Free Hectare project also suggest that this was probably “the most expensive hectare of barley ever,” with an overall budget of £200,000 from the U.K. government. Moonshots like this are understandably expensive, though, and since a huge chunk of that money went to capital costs (like buying a tractor and a harvester), the next crop will be vastly cheaper."