Thomas Woolston won $29.5 million from eBay Inc., when a federal judge upheld a federal jury’s decision that the online marketplace infringed on two of Woolston’s patents.

eBay argued the validity of Woolston’s patents, but the jury decided the company “willfully” violated the patents.

The jury’s verdict allowed the possibility for U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Friedman to triple the awarded damages if he felt it necessary. He refrained, however, but said he would add to the damage if eBay continued its infringement.

Woolston is the founder of MercExchange LLC, an internet technology firm from Great Falls, Virginia. According to its Web site, eBay employs nearly 13,000 people, and it saw $52 billion worth of goods exchanged in its marketplace in 2006.