Alerts

Supreme Court to Decide on Permanent Injunctions Against Patent Infringers

Could Have Implications for "Patent Trolls" and Business Method Patents

November 29, 2005

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal in eBay, Inc. v. MercExchange LLC, a case that presents the Supreme Court with the opportunity to decide the standard applicable to the issuance of permanent injunctions in patent cases. The eBay case involves three business method patents directed to a computerized market for sale of consigned goods. The patents are owned by a MercExchange, a "licensing concern" that does not itself utilize the patents in its business. The trial court found infringement, but denied a permanent injunction in the public interest. In denying the injunction, the court referred to “a growing concern over the issuance of business method patents, which forced the PTO [U.S. Patent and Trademark Office] to implement a second level review policy and caused legislation to be introduced in Congress to eliminate the presumption of validity for such patents.” The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed, holding that “general concern regarding business method patents … is not the type of important public need that justifies the unusual step of denying injunctive relief.”