Supreme Court to Hear eBay-MercExchange Patent Case

San Jose, Calif. -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal
by San Jose-based eBay, two years after a federal court ruled that the online
auction giant infringed on e-commerce patents held by Virginia-based
MercExchange. At issue is the technology that eBay uses for its fixed price and
"Buy it Now" sales, which together make up about a third of its total sales. In
2003, the District Court found that eBay was infringing on MercExchange's
patents, awarded the company $35 million in damages, but declining to issue a
permanent injunction. While the amount was later lowered to $25 million, an
appeals court ruled that the lower court should have issued a permanent
injunction -- a decision that eBay is now appealing. "The bottom line is whether
we will be able to obtain a permanent injunction on eBay's buy-it now
operations or whether the court will force a compulsory license," said Scott
Robertson of Hunton & Williams, the lead attorney representing
MercExchange. EBay, however, had a somewhat different view. "We have
believed all along that MercExchange -- which does not practice its own patents
and only exists to sue others -- should not be entitled to an injunction," said
eBay in a statement. .
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