Article Title
Abstract
From a remedial perspective, the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C. reopened the age-old question of what it means to award equitable relief. In eBay, the Court rejected a permanent injunction issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to protect a business-method patent that defendant eBay had infringed on its successful auction website. This essay diagnoses the remedial problem in eBay as the improper use of presumptions for equitable relief that effectively prioritizes selected legal rights. It offers a prescriptive cure for the problem in the traditional balancing of the equities standard that emphasizes the respective equities of the private parties, including their economic motivations and inequitable conduct. This signifies a return to the historical notion of equity as a legal accommodation of private and public interests in pursuit of justice.
Recommended Citation
Thomas, Tracy A.
(2008)
"eBay RX,"
Akron Intellectual Property Journal: Vol. 2
:
Iss.
1
, Article 9.
Available at:
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/akronintellectualproperty/vol2/iss1/9