(AP) 12 minutes ago

WASHINGTON Online auction site operator eBay Inc. spent $539,000 during the first quarter to lobby the federal government on anti-counterfeiting measures, environmental issues and other issues, according to a disclosure report.

That was an 11 percent increase from the $486,400 eBay spent in the same quarter a year earlier, and 30 percent higher than the $415,000 it spent in the fourth quarter of 2009.

EBay, based in San Jose, Calif., also lobbied the federal government on legislation involving issues such as organized retail crime, visas for skilled workers and job creation by small Internet retailers, according to the report filed on April 16.

In the January-March period, eBay lobbied entities including Congress, the Commerce Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department, according to the report filed with the House clerk's office.