A federal judge has approved a roughly $30 million judgment against eBay more than four years after a jury concluded the online auctioneer had infringed on the patent of a small Virginia company, an Associated Press report said.
The Associated Press report said US District Court Judge Jerome Friedman's certification edges Great Falls, Virginai-based MercExchange a step closer to cashing in on its long-running battle against one of the internet's powerhouses.
But eBay still hopes to avoid writing a check.
'We are disappointed with the court's order and we plan to appeal it,' eBay, in a statement said.
EBay believes Friedman could have rejected the judgment, based on recent US Supreme Court rulings on the laws governing patent enforcement the report said.
The case already has been tied up in years of appeals, including an issue that landed in the US Supreme Court, the report said.
The dispute revolves around eBay's 'Buy It Now' option, which sells merchandise at a fixed price instead of fluctuating bids. MercExchange contends the system tramples on its patented technology.