On-line Used Car Site Licenses MercExchange Patents for Auction-Style Listings; Auction-Style Selling Tool Has Clear Advantages Over Existing Sites

    ATLANTA, Jan. 16, 2003; AutoTrader.com, and MercExchange LLC, holder of several
important U.S. patents on internet-based auction and market processes,
announced today that they have entered into an agreement that provides
AutoTrader.com with a license to MercExchange's patents for internet based
auctions.  AutoTrader.com's innovative 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 better than existing auction-style sites.  No
additional details of the licensing arrangement were released.
    "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."
    "We are very pleased to have AutoTrader.com as a licensee," said Thomas
Woolston, President of MercExchange and inventor of its patented technologies.
"AutoTrader.com's online business model has a tremendous opportunity to
leverage their current base of listings and customers and allow Auction-Style
Listings to quickly become a core product offering on their site."