A federal appeals court granted eBay a stay in the patent-infringement case brought against it in 2001 by networking-systems developer MercExchange, reports CNET; the case is awaiting potential review by the U.S. Supreme Court, which will decide either to review the case or send it back to the lower courts. A federal district court jury ruled in favor of MercExchange and ordered eBay to pay more than $25 million in damages, but the U.S. Appeals Court in March threw out one of two patent infringement claims. Also earlier this year, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office initially rejected MercExchange's claims involving the two patents. The point of contention is the "buy it now" option on eBay's auction site.