AutoTrader.com, a leading automotive classifieds site, said it would license patents from MercExchange LLC for Internet-based auction and market processes. AutoTrader.com said its new auction-style buying and selling tool has been built from the ground up to serve the needs of mainstream used-car buyers and sellers, and it will not charge a commission fee.

"We chose to obtain a license for our Auction-Style product because we respect the MercExchange patents," said Chip Perry, president and chief executive officer of AutoTrader.com. "We are creating a product that will fuel our growth in auction-style car buying and selling, and that will further innovate in the dynamically-priced classified advertising space."

In December, AutoTrader ended its relationship with eBay, 6 months earlier than scheduled. AutoTrader.com had provided some of the vehicle listings to eBay's automobile marketplace. Interestingly, eBay refused to license patents from MercExchange, and the companies are going to court in April over the patent dispute.

AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Manheim Auctions, Inc., the world's largest operator of wholesale auto auctions since 1945.

http://www.autotrader.com