eBay being sued over patent infringement

Geoff, So tell us how to find your wife's site, and perhaps some among us might check it out. At 02:08 PM 4/24/03 -0700, you wrote: >At 09:56 PM 4/23/03 -0500, you wrote: >>On Wednesday, April 23, 2003, at 08:40 PM, Mail List wrote: >> >>>That's right here in the next town over. If it's an open courtroom I could >>>go over there and check it out. >>> >>>I don't know about eBay and patent infringement, but I think eBay >>>has a monopoly on the online auction market for private individuals >>>which might warrant anti-trust action. I don't think a private individual >> >> The fact that an entity may be the only viable player on a given >> field doesn't "warrant anti-trust action." If eBay is actively doing >> anything to hinder their competition, other than doing what they do >> VERY well, and marketing it well, *that* might warrant action. > >They are, the state of Illinois? has a new law that was pushed through >with the help of ebay requiring the operators of any Internet auction >site to register with that state "if any potential sellers or buyers >reside within the state" at a fee of $200. of course you also have to >find an auctioneer to "sponsor" you and you have to take state approved >courses to maintain the registration (auction calling, and the like) >:( the state is getting ready to start filing civil lawsuits seeking >damages of up to $10,000 and the shutting down of the offending sites if >you don't comply. > > For small auction site operators like my wife (she hasn't made any $ > from the thing yet and it's been running for > 6 months) that state's > requirements are onerous.