MercExchange

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MercExchange is a technology development and on-line auction company. Their founder's name is Thomas G. Woolston.

1 Licensees
2 Issued US Patents
3 Patent dispute
4 External links

[edit] Licensees

The following companies have licensed MercExchange technology as of August 2006 [1]

AutoTrader.com
Channeladvisor
Overture
ReturnBuy

[edit] Issued US Patents

U.S. Patent 5845265 Consignment nodes
U.S. Patent 6085176 Method and apparatus for using search agents to search plurality of markets for items
U.S. Patent 6202051 Facilitating internet commerce through internetworked auctions
U.S. Patent 6266651 Facilitating electronic commerce through two-tiered electronic markets and auctions
U.S. Patent 6856967 Generating and navigating streaming dynamic pricing information

[edit] Patent dispute

MercExchange is currently enforcing its patents against infringement by eBay. In the 2006 case eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., eBay has been convicted of willfully infringing the patents[2]. The court found that eBay's infringement caused $35 million in damages to MercExchange. eBay has exhausted its appeals on the infringement. The remaining legal issue is whether or not MercExchange will be able to obtain a permanent injunction.