eBay Sued for $3.8 Billion, Patent Case Tied to PayPal

EBay Inc has been sued for at least $3.8 billion by XPRT Ventures LLC, which accused the online auctioneer and retailer of infringing six patents to develop online payment systems such as PayPal. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in the U.S. district court in Delaware, lawyers for the plaintiff said. EBay did not immediately return calls and an email seeking comment.

According to the complaint, eBay used confidential and proprietary information from XPRT in its own application for a patent, and also to roll out several features for use in its payment systems. The lawsuit seeks a minimum $3.8 billion in monetary damages, treble damages resulting from eBay's alleged "willful and malicious conduct," punitive damages, and other remedies. XPRT is based in Greenwich, Connecticut, and eBay in San Jose, California.