[danbmil99]

You're missing the crucial point of submarine patents: if approved, they are enforced as of the date they were filed. So pending patents can in fact be used as a cudgel, to get licensees to pay for a guarantee that if the patent is approved, they won't be socked with outlandish royalty demands. It's like insurance. To a first approximation, the value of a pending patent is proportional to the probability that it will eventually be approved.

I'm reminded of Tony Soprano to an unhappy customer: "Satisfaction guaranteed, or double your garbage back!"

ps: recent rule changes mean that some patents (those that will be filed outside of the US) will be published 18 months after filing, even if they are not yet approved. Possibly not relevant here, as the troll would presumably want you to see the pending patent to prove the legitimacy of his threat.