Patent Infringement Suit Against Ebay
Mar 13, 2006
The Washington Post reports that the Office of the Solicitor General filed a brief last Friday claiming that eBay willfully infringed on a patent held by a company called MercExchange LLC.
The patent debate centers around eBay's "Buy It Now" feature that allows shoppers to bypass the bid process to purchase items right away for a predetermined price. According to the Post, a third of sales on eBay are made with the tool.
MercExchange, which ended its own online business in 2000, says that eBay is infringing on its patent and that it still competes with eBay because it licenses its technology to other auction sites. MercExchange would like the courts to enforce an injunction to stop eBay from using the Buy It Now feature.
The case raises critical questions - reminiscent of the recent Blackberry case. Should companies that file patent violations be able to get an automatic injunction to stop use of certain technologies?
The Supreme Court may decide that question in the eBay case later this month. In the interim, eBay shoppers can continue to Buy It Now.
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