Four internet giants hit yearly high - but Ebay takes a hit

[Marcia]

Big four Internet names on fire
EBay, Amazon, Yahoo and USA hit fresh 52-week highs

CBS NewsWatch Story [cbs.marketwatch.com]

But in a story not yet at search engines, it's reported that Ebay has been ordered to pay $35 Million out in a patent case.

Off the newswire [cbs.marketwatch.com]

EBay ordered to pay $35 mln in patent case (EBAY) By Bambi Francisco

A federal jury in Virginia ordered EBay (EBAY) to pay $35 million for violating two patents held by MercExchange. MercExchange's founder filed three patent applications in 1995 for programs and procedures to run online auctions. EBay said it would act quickly to request that the court set aside the verdict.

[momsbudget]

Yep, we lost (I'm a paralegal on the eBay case ) :( Attorneys are just returning from Norfolk now, so we have lots of work to do, including unpacking about 800 boxes - no joke.

While it's sad to lose a case, (of course we'll win on appeal!), it's enlightening to work on the tech cases. If I ever have $5 million in VC, I now know all of Ebay and Half.com's marketing plans by heart :)