MercExchange, the company that won a patent case against eBay, got funding from hedge firm Altitude Capital, Forbes reported on Monday (http://digbig.com/4fmwy). MercExchange spokesperson Michael Caputo confirmed the investment and said Altitude Capital invested "substantial millions" in the company to be used to recapitalize MercExchange.

The battle between eBay and MercExchange has been long and fierce. On Monday, the Supreme Court opened a new chapter in the case when it issued an order saying it would hear eBay's argument over an injunction ruling (http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y05/m11/i28/s00).

Once the Supreme Court rules on the injunction, it appears eBay and MercExchange will face off again before the District Court in Norfolk. Still to be determined is whether eBay continues to infringe on MercExchange fixed-price patents. eBay says it does not, MercExchange says it does infringe.

eBay is hoping a reexamination of MercExchange patents by the USPTO could invalidate the jury finding.

And MercExchange says it will file another suit against eBay for infringing on its auction patents after the Appeals Court in March cleared the way for it to do so.