The Supreme Court granted review today in the eBay v. MercExchange case. This case is a blockbuster, focused on the basic standards for injunctive relief, after a finding of infringement, in a patent case.
The question petitioner eBay framed is as follows: “Whether the Federal Circuit erred in setting forth a general rule in patent cases that a district court must, absent exceptional circumstances, issue a permanent injunction after a finding of infringement.”
The question the Court added itself, in today’s order granting review, is as follows: “Whether this Court should reconsider its precedents, including Continental Paper Bag Co. v. Eastern Paper Bag Co., 210 U.S. 405 (1908), on when it is appropriate to grant an injunction against a patent infringer.”
Updates to follow.
UPDATE 1: Patently-O Blog has several links here. Reuters has the story here.
UPDATE 2: Coverage from the Financial Times here, and from c|net news here.
This is indeed a huge development. My question is what happens to the rest of the case while the Supreme Court decides the injunction issue? The Fed Cir upheld the damages award and reversed the district ct. finding that the other patent in the case was invalid. Do these issues get put on hold, or can they move forward because the outcome of the Supreme Court decision will have no effect on them?
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