eBay have successfully defended a patent infringement suit against Netcraft. The case asserted PayPal infringed Netcraft’s “Internet Billing Method” however the case was dismissed as Netcraft’s patents concern Internet Access provision and as eBay are not an ISP there is no way the patents are applicable.
Any restriction in the use of PayPal in conjunction with eBay would be a catastrophe for the many businesses reliant on the sites for their main income source. eBay issued a statement saying “We are pleased by the Court’s well-reasoned ruling in this case. We will continue to protect the interests of our global community of users and the businesses who rely on eBay’s platforms to make a living.”
