Most patent pools are formed in the shadow of patent litigation as an attempt to settle disputes in regard to conflicting infringement claims and the validity of patents. To reflect this reality, I develop a simple framework to analyze the incentives to form a patent pool or engage in...

"A solution to a broad category of nuisance suits is examined in this paper. The solution is to give defendants the option to have courts prevent settlements (by refusing to enforce them). Then, if a defendant knows he is facing a plaintiff who would not be willing to go to trial, the defendant...