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Bezos Seeks Amazon Honor System-Related Patents

Posted by Hemos on from the ebay-comes-a-shaking dept.

theodp writes "When Amazon's Honor System debuted, some questioned if Amazon would try to patent it. More than 18 months later, the USPTO has provided the answer with the 8-29 publication of patent applications 20020120568 ("User-to-user payment service with payee-specific pay pages") and 20020120567 ("Hosted services for collecting payments from and providing personalized content to web site visitors"). Both list Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos as an inventor and use the Amazon Honor System to illustrate a commercial implementation of the inventions." Hmm...wouldn't eBay's point system be prior art in this situation?

9 of 117 comments (clear)

  1. Well if it is by MikeDX · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Then what about all of the ad banners that are affiliate based and have been around for ages and ages? Pay per click affiliates?

  2. Prior Art? by cenonce · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Prior art!?! The novel and non-obvious requirement is what's gettin' me!!!

    -A
    1. Re:Prior Art? by Golias · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Nearly all software creations fail this simple litmus test. It's about time that those of us in the industry lobby congress to establish that only copyright, not patents, should be the protection which software enjoys.

      As long as you are not stealing code, there is nothing unethical about writing a program that does the same thing as somebody else's program. The only "invention" involved would be the versitile Finite State Machine ("the PC", for you patent lawyers), which allows these applications to work.

      I can't take out a patent on a method of using my car to light my house. Likewise, I should not be allowed to patent a new application for my computer.

      IANAL, blah blah blah

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      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    2. Re:Prior Art? by hburch · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I can't take out a patent on a method of using my car to light my house

      Are you sure about that?

      All inventions are new application of existing technology (ignore patents on DNA, since that is not always new). You take a bit of this, a bit of that, and pretty soon you have a car.

      Since I program, I think in terms of software. Libraries exist, but I can create a new routine that uses the functions. Just because all I did was find a new application for libraries does not mean I did not create something, nor that what I did not have value.

      To take your argument to the extreme: "I'm sorry, this invention is just a new application for atoms."

      I do agree that "do X with a computer", where X has been around forever does not seem very innovative. On the other hand, if it was not innovative, why was it not done earlier? (no demand, no one pursued, no one had thought of it (but that would make it innovative)). On the other other hand, just because it is innovative does not mean that it should qualify for a patent.

    3. Re:Prior Art? by schon · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Just because all I did was find a new application for libraries does not mean I did not create something, nor that what I did not have value.

      Nobody is debating that.

      You put work into your software, and you get recognition for it, in the way of copyright protection

      If someone else were to do solve the same problem you did, in the same way, why should they have to pay you? They put in the same amount of work, they created something - why should you be rewarded for their work if they didn't use anything you did?

      Patents are supposed to protect a specific solution to a problem - they are not supposed to protect the problem itself.

      if it was not innovative, why was it not done earlier?

      Perhaps it was, but nobody thought that it was worth patenting, because it's so obvious.

  3. Donations / Payments by z_gringo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    From the article:

    Dubbed the Amazon Honor System, the new payment method will allow Web sites to solicit small donations from visitors or charge for content on a pay-per-view basis. The system will tie into Amazon's one-click payment feature and Amazon's customer database, meaning that third-party Web sites will seemingly recognize Amazon customers and make it easy for them to donate money.

    That makes it sound like it's just for donations. However, with a "user-to-user" payment system that really works, It sounds like a great market might be in international money transfers. I mean Wester Union charges $30 and up to send money. A few others are somewhat cheaper, but this would be dramatically cheaper.

    Oddly, from reading the article, it doesn't sound like anyone over there has even thought of that angle..

    It sounds like a good idea to me...

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    -- -- Warning. Do not stare directly at the sun.
  4. Simple answer by nagora · · Score: 2, Insightful
    I don't buy from Amazon and neither should you.

    TWW

    --
    "Encyclopedia" is to "Wikipedia" what "Library" is to "Some people at a bus stop"
  5. User-to-user payment service ... by hpavc · · Score: 2, Insightful

    with payee-specific pages ... isnt that a checkbook?

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    members are seeing something, your seeing an ad
  6. Oh no... by erroneus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...now I can no longer be honorable as being honorable has been patented. Crap. Anyone out there have any good advice on how to be a scumbag? How about getting into the software patent game... that sorta takes the honor out of ya.