The Supreme Court sided with eBay in a patent fight Monday, ordering a lower court to reconsider whether the Web giant should have been barred from using contested technology.

Justices, in an unanimous opinion, said that judges have flexibility to consider several factors before they impose court orders barring continued use of a technology after juries find a patent violation.

A judge must now consider whether an injunction is appropriate in the case involving eBay and a small company, MercExchange.

A jury sided with MercExchange, finding that its business method patents had been infringed, and awarded the patent-holder $35 million. A trial judge later reduced the award by $5.5 million.

Posted: 05|15|06 at 5:30 pm. Filed under: US News.