EBay Wins Decision Against Bidder’s Edge

EBay Inc. won a tentative, nonbinding decision from a federal judge to bar an online search site from copying the No. 1 Internet auctioneer’s lists of wares. The news helped push EBay’s shares up in a dramatically down market. U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte said he is likely to grant EBay’s request for a preliminary injunction against closely held Bidder’s Edge Inc., which consolidates listings from more than 160 Web sites so consumers can compare the prices of auction items. In a suit that raises questions about the openness of the Internet and Web sites’ property rights, EBay in December alleged trespass, copyright infringement and unfair business practices against Bidder’s Edge. Some Internet law experts say the decision could be used to restrict all Internet search sites’ rights to access information. Shares of EBay, which had as much as 80% of U.S. online person-to-person auction listings at the start of 1999, rose 75 cents to close at $139.56 on Nasdaq.