Ebay Inc. v. Mercexchange, L. L. C.
547 U.S. 388 · Decided May 15, 2006 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Ebay Inc. v. Mercexchange, L. L. C. was decided on May 15, 2006 unanimously (9–0). The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Patentability of computer processes” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 547 U.S. 388 · 126 S. Ct. 1837 · 164 L. Ed. 2d 641 · 2006 U.S. LEXIS 3872
- Docket number
- 05-130
- Decided
- May 15, 2006
- Argued
- March 29, 2006
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Clarence Thomas
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Patentability of computer processes
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 25 U.S.C. § 1
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Concurrence | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Concurrence | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Concurrence | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Concurrence | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Concurrence | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority |
Full case caption
Ebay Inc., et al. v. Mercexchange, L. L. C.
SCDB identifiers: case 2005-056, docket 2005-056-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Patentability of computer processes”
- Microsoft Corporation v. AT&T Corp.
- Quanta Computer, Inc. v. Lg Electronics, Inc.
- Bernard L. Bilski and Rand A. Warsaw v. David J. Kappos
- Microsoft Corporation v. I4I Limited Partnership
- Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int'l
- Diamond v. Bradley
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- United States v. Joseph Olson
- Volvo Trucks North America, Inc. v. Reeder-Simco GMC, Inc.
- Buckeye Check Cashing, Inc. v. John Cardegna
- Ministry of Defense and Support for the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran v. Dariush Elahi
- Barbara Dolan v. United States Postal Service
- Texaco Inc. v. Fouad N. Dagher
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error