Patent at Center of eBay Law Suit Revoked
In September 2001, MercExchange Inc sued eBay for $25 million. On March 16 this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that eBay’s fixed price auctions (otherwise known as Buy it Now) and some of its online payment methods, violated a patent originally obtained by MercExchange.
eBay was ordered to pay some $25 million and as a result of the court ruling, eBay could have received an order blocking it from using some of the functions in Buy it Now features.
But now the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has apparently made an initial finding to revoke the patent. eBay has always maintained the patents were not valid, and now the Patent Office seems to be in agreement.
If the Patent Office maintains its position of invalidity even after hearing from MercExchange, then the court case would be dismissed.So it looks like the fixed price Buy it Now feature will continue to be on eBay for the long term as an alternative to auction bidding.
eBay was ordered to pay some $25 million and as a result of the court ruling, eBay could have received an order blocking it from using some of the functions in Buy it Now features.
But now the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has apparently made an initial finding to revoke the patent. eBay has always maintained the patents were not valid, and now the Patent Office seems to be in agreement.
If the Patent Office maintains its position of invalidity even after hearing from MercExchange, then the court case would be dismissed.So it looks like the fixed price Buy it Now feature will continue to be on eBay for the long term as an alternative to auction bidding.
