They make nothing. They sell nothing. They can be made right with money.
And the patent is f&^%ing obvious, and probably does not stand up to the new standard that SCOTUS set a few weeks ago.
These people are paracites, and they are destroying innovation in our society.
There has been a “price before auction” for a hundred years.
Company calls for end to eBay’s `Buy It Now’
PATENT LAWS DEBATED BEFORE FEDERAL JUDGE
By Sonja Barisic
Associated Press
Article Launched: 06/13/2007 01:37:55 AM PDTNORFOLK, Va. – A small Virginia company in a patent fight with eBay asked a federal judge Tuesday to stop the online auction powerhouse from using its “Buy It Now” feature, which allows shoppers to buy items at a fixed price.
A federal jury found in 2003 that eBay had infringed Great Falls, Va.-based MercExchange’s patent. But last year, the U.S. Supreme Court handed a victory to patent-reform advocates when it ruled that MercExchange was not automatically entitled to a court order blocking the offending service.
Now, U.S. District Court Judge Jerome B. Friedman must decide whether MercExchange is entitled to a permanent injunction. The judge did not say when he would rule.
Friedman also did not immediately rule on eBay’s request to stay the proceedings until the federal patent office has completed a re-examination of the patent – a process MercExchange’s lawyers said could take 10 years.
Lawyers for San Jose-based eBay told the judge the company has designed a work-around so it no longer infringes on the patent, and thus an injunction is unnecessary.
Attorney Jeff Randall said MercExchange has not suffered irreparable harm and that the company is better off now than it was before the trial, citing an investment by a hedge fund.
MercExchange’s attorneys, however, argued that the potential for future infringement is at stake.