The dispute between eBay and MercExchange has been running since October 2001, and hinges on an auction site patent application that was filed a few months before eBay was launched in 1995.
Since 1995, Woolston has obtained four patents, has ten more pending, and has sued others for infringement, although the eBay case is his biggest by far.
The patent dispute related to the “Buy it now” service on the eBay site, which deals with fixed price sales, and a facility to search other on-line auction houses.
The case will now go back to the trial judge who can, if he sees fit, increase the damages awarded, up to three times the current award. He may also issue a permanent injunction against the company, preventing eBay from using the patented technology.
EBay lawyer Jay Monahan said: “We are disappointed with the jury's verdict. This issue is far from over". He added, "We believe that the weight of the evidence presented during the trial did not justify the jury's verdict."
Monahan said that an appeal is being filed. But the case may instead end in a settlement. According to Computerworld.com, Woolston has said that he may agree to enter into talks with eBay to licence or sell the patents.