COPYCENSE

“The U.S. Supreme Court will review a patent infringement case against eBay, granting the online auctioneer’s petition on Monday.

“The matter under review is whether to allow MercExchange, the plaintiff in the case, to obtain a permanent injunction against eBay related to the way it handles fixed-price sales. A district court in 2003 found that eBay’s “Buy It Now” feature infringed on two MercExchange patents. Buy It Now allows consumers to purchase an item without participating in an auction.

“A federal appeals court later ruled in favor of a permanent injunction and awarded MercExchange $25 million in damages. The appeals court also ruled that eBay had infringed on only one of MercExchange’s patents.”

Alorie Gilbert. Supreme Court: We’ll Review eBay’s Patent Case. News.com. Nov. 28, 2005.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.