EBay, MercExchange reach settlement
Online marketplace eBay Inc. said Thursday it reached a settlement with MercExchange LLC over a patent lawsuit filed in September 2001.
San Jose-based eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) will purchase all three patents involved in the lawsuit with Great Falls, Va.-based MercExchange, along with related technology and inventions and a license to another search-related patent portfolio that was not asserted in the lawsuit.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We’re pleased to have been able to reach a settlement with MercExchange,” said Mike Jacobson, eBay general counsel. “In addition to resolving the litigation, this settlement gives us access to additional intellectual property that will help improve and further secure our marketplaces.”
In December a judge upheld an earlier verdict that Bay must pay about $30 million because its “Buy It Now” feature violates MercExchange’s patent.