E-commerce giant eBay has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide a patent issue currently pitting the computer technology and pharmaceuticals industries against one another in Congress. The petition, disclosed Wednesday in an eBay regulatory filing, asks the Supreme Court to hear an appeal on whether eBay and other companies held liable for patent infringement should be routinely subject to injunctions while such cases are on appeal. eBay and its Half.com subsidiary urged the Supreme Court to consider the matter, saying the stakes go beyond the interest of patent infringement defendants. "This case presents an important question of federal patent law with significant implications for the nation's economy," eBay wrote in its Monday request to the Supreme Court. "A permanent injunction in the context of patent law is a potent remedy. The enjoined defendant is faced with tough choices: redesign its product or the product's functionality to eliminate reliance on the patent, negotiate a license on possibly onerous terms, or cease production or use altogether."