perfidy

From the Washington Post

A federal judge Wednesday ordered online auction house eBay to pay $29.5 million to a Virginia inventor who accused the company of stealing his ideas.

But U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Friedman said he would not require the Internet giant to stop using the disputed features in the case, saying lawyers for plaintiff Thomas Woolston failed to show that he would suffer irreparable harm if the court did not issue an injunction.

A Norfolk federal jury decided in May that eBay willfully infringed on Woolston's patents, which presented a way for people to purchase items over the Internet for a fixed price. The jury said that eBay's "Buy It Now" option, which allows auction surfers to do the same thing, infringed on Woolston's patent.

Friedman's ruling is less than the $35 million that the jury recommended at the end of a five-week trial. Because the jury found the violation was willful, the judge could have tripled the jury's award.

It's hard to say which is less able to cope with the effects of technology on society: the law, or the judges that apply it so foolishly.