EBay Inc was supposedly sued by a Connecticut company named XPRT Ventures LLC for infringing a patented payment system similar to ‘PayPal Later’ and ‘PayPal Buyer Credit’. And the amount that it is sued is $3.8b. Yeah, totally massive amount of gold there, but not uncommon for a big size lawsuit. What’s more is that XPRT claimed that eBay is copying XPRT’s system patent into theirs.

“This involves a trade secret theft, along with sheer patent infringement,” said Steven Moore, a partner at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP representing the plaintiff, in an interview. “It is bad enough to take someone’s technology, but it is a bit much to use it in your own patent application.”

XPRT is seeking a least amount $3.8 billion in fiscal damages, based on their estimated present value. It is also seeking treble damages resulting from eBay’s alleged “willful and malicious conduct,” punitive damages, and other remedies.
Well eBay Inc is not the only one getting into trouble. The lawsuit also names eBay affiliates PayPal, Bill Me Later, Shopping.Com and StubHub as defendants.

[via Reuters]