Abstract:    There are phenomena of competitive learning and patent lawsuits among enterprises in the patent pools, which have become important strategic weapons for modern high-tech enterprises to compete. Can alliance ties within patent pools reduce the intensity of patent lawsuits between partners? What role does competitive learning play in it? Based on the panel data of 12,195 member pairs of MPEG LA, negative binomial regression model was used in this paper to analyze the influence mechanism of alliance ties within patent pools on patent lawsuits, while regression coefficient sequential test method and moderation path analysis method were used to test the mediating effect of competitive learning. The study findings showed that tie strength can influence the intensity of patent lawsuits positively, there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between tie duration and the intensity of patent lawsuits, competitive learning is a mediating variable not only between tie strength and intensity of patent lawsuits, but also between tie duration and intensity of patent lawsuits. This paper will provide new experience and evidence to enrich the theory of patent pool and litigation, and it is also beneficial for high-tech enterprises to utilize patent pools, conduct alliance learning, and reduce patent lawsuits from alliance partners.

Key words: alliance tie within patent pool, tie strength, tie duration, competitive learning, patent lawsuit