A patent dispute between MercExchange and eBay has been settled. In the case, the Supreme Court sided with the eBay in what is considered to be an important ruling on intellectual property. As a result, eBay will purchase from MercExchange three patents that were part of a September 2001 lawsuit filed by MercExchange, along with additional technology and inventions related to the dispute. eBay will also license a search-related patent portfolio that wasn’t part of the lawsuit, the company said Thursday. Other terms of the agreement are not being disclosed, eBay said.
Consent orders – what are they?
When a matter is taken to court, parties can, in some instances, make an offer to reach an agreement before the dispute proceeds to trial