The conventional wisdom is that the formation of patent pools is welfare enhancing when patents are complementary … and either increases spillovers in development or decreases the degree of product differentiation, patent pools can … why patent pools are uncommon in science-based industries such as biotech and pharmaceuticals that are characterized by …

In several key industries, including semiconductors, biotechnology, computer software, and the Internet, our patent … system is creating a patent thicket: an overlapping set of patent rights requiring that those seeking to commercialize new … technology obtain licenses from multiple patentees. The patent thicket is especially thorny when combined with the risk of hold …