Will high court hear eBay appeal?

Iria · Nov 4, 2005, 10:06 PM

It's unlikely that the U.S. Supreme Court will agree to hear eBay's latest patent infringement appeal, some lawyers predicted Friday.

The court on Monday is expected to announce whether it will hear an appeal in the case of eBay v. MercExchange. A conference on the matter was scheduled for Friday, according to the court's docket.

Two years ago, a federal trial court found eBay guilty of infringing networking-systems developer MercExchange's patent for the "Buy it Now" feature on fixed-price sales; it slapped the company with $25 million in damages. But a federal appeals court granted a stay on the case earlier this year, while eBay sought Supreme Court action.

The broader question eBay wants the high court to address is whether companies held liable for patent infringement should be readily subject to injunctions--that is, prohibition from using the patent in question--while their cases are on appeal. According to an existing statute, courts are supposed to award such injunctions with discretion. But over the past several years, they have made them almost automatically, said Sharon Barner, a patent lawyer at Foley & Lardner in Chicago.
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Nov 4, 2005, 10:06 PM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	Will high court hear eBay appeal? It's unlikely that the U.S. Supreme Court will agree to hear eBay's latest patent infringement appeal, some lawyers predicted Friday. The court on Monday is expected to announce whether it will hear an appeal in the case of eBay v. MercExchange. A conference on the matter was scheduled for Friday, according to the court's docket. Two years ago, a federal trial court found eBay guilty of infringing networking-systems developer MercExchange's patent for the "Buy it Now" feature on fixed-price sales; it slapped the company with $25 million in damages. But a federal appeals court granted a stay on the case earlier this year, while eBay sought Supreme Court action. The broader question eBay wants the high court to address is whether companies held liable for patent infringement should be readily subject to injunctions--that is, prohibition from using the patent in question--while their cases are on appeal. According to an existing statute, courts are supposed to award such injunctions with discretion. But over the past several years, they have made them almost automatically, said Sharon Barner, a patent lawyer at Foley & Lardner in Chicago. ____________ Read More / Soruce: News.com