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EBay Ordered to Pay in Patent Case

Auction site fined $35 million, published report says.

Gillian Law, IDG News Service

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EBay has been ordered to pay $35 million in damages after the jury in a federal district court in Virginia found it had infringed two patents held by MercExchange, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal online edition Wednesday.

The patents cover only fixed-price sales, and could affect about one third of the items sold on eBay, the WSJ said.

Appeal Likely?

EBay of San Jose, California, plans to ask Judge Jerome Friedman to set aside the verdict and, if he refuses, may consider an appeal, the report said.

MercExchange, of Great Falls, Virginia, does not use the patented technology itself but licenses it to other traders, the report said.

EBay in the U.K. said it was not able to comment on the case Wednesday morning.

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