Siding with eBay, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that even after juries find a patent violation, judges have flexibility in imposing injunctions to bar patent infringers from using the technology in dispute, reports the Associated Press. A federal trial judge must now consider whether an injunction is appropriate in the eBay case specifically.

The technology at issue in the current case eBay's fixed-price purchase option, which MercExchange, a small Virginia company, sought an injunction to prevent eBay from using, because MercExchange held a patent for it; a jury ruled against eBay. An appeals court said MercExchange was entitled to an injunction, but eBay appealed to the Supreme Court.

The battle also pits software companies, which say they can be held hostage by questionable patents, against drug makers, which oppose weakening of patent rights that spur investment in new medicines.

Drug and biotech companies and research universities view patent protection differently, because a drug may be based on a single patent, which manufacturers need to protect against their generic-drug competition, writes Bloomberg. However, devices may include scores of tech patents; a computer maker may therefore prefer to pay a licensing fee to a patent holder rather than risk being forced by a judge to shut down an entire product line.

Prior coverage:

- Landmark eBay Patent Case in Supreme Court
- Supreme Court to Consider eBay Patent Appeal
- eBay Granted Stay in Patent-Infringement Case