eBay Inc. v. MercExchange
MercExchange sued eBay and Half.com for willful infringement of three business-method patents. The defendants successfully dismissed one of the claims because one of the patents was invalid. The remaining two infringement claims went to trial, and a jury found that eBay and Half.com had willfully infringed the other patents. The court awarded damages but denied MercExchange’s motion for a permanent injunction, stating that, in light of the growing concern about the issuance of business-method patents, issuing an injunction would go against the public interest. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed, holding that, absent exceptional circumstances, district courts should always issue permanent injunctions after finding that a patent has been infringed.
Question presented:
Whether the Federal Circuit erred in setting forth a general rule in patent cases that a district court must, absent exceptional circumstances, issue a permanent injunction after a finding of
infringement.
