This post was originally published on the eBay Inc. blog. 

eBay Inc. is drawing on its wealth of e-commerce data to play a global thought leadership role in a recent series of studies and public forums targeting international governments and industry leaders.

This week, eBay Inc. released a report titled, “Micro-Multinationals, Global Consumers and the World Trade Organisation” at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

The House of Representatives passed important patent reform legislation Thursday that will help protect small businesses from abusive patent trolls. Sponsored by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), the Innovation Act (HR 3309) includes protections for small businesses that will shield them from expensive litigation and provide resources to properly respond to demand letters.

eBay Inc. CEO John Donahoe became the newest member of the President’s Export Council Thursday after President Barack Obama appointed Donahoe to the prestigious advisory committee on international trade. In this role, Donahoe will advise the president on policies and programs that affect U.S. trade, including opportunities to expand cross border trade opportunities for businesses that use eBay Inc. products and services.

Protecting small businesses from the onerous burdens of the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) has been one of the main concerns for policymakers in the Internet sales tax debate. Unfortunately, the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy released a report recently that does not provide any new research about the bill's impact on small businesses. In fact, many observers have pointed out significant flaws in the study's methodology and findings. Here are some of the concerns being highlighted about the SBA study: