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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?

3 of 117 comments (clear)

  1. Prior Art by tuxedo-steve · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Hmm...wouldn't eBay's point system be prior art in this situation?
    If someone does have evidence of prior art in a case like this, is there some procedure for bringing it to the attention of the patent office? I mean, we obviously can't rely on the good people at the USPTO to do their homework - surely it's in the best interests of the tech community to do it for them, in cases like these?

    If someone knows of prior art, posting it on Slashdot is not going to help. It needs to be nipped in the bud, by putting it in the face of these patent-happy bureaucrats.
    --
    - SMJ - (It's not just a name: it's a bad aftertaste.)
  2. How about these guys? by melvin22 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think their ideas are dated back to April of this year. Now the question is: can their stuff be interpreted as pretty much being the same (therefore prior "art"?) as the Amazon patents? Or do I just not know what the hell I'm talking about at 7AM on a monday?

  3. Patent Office Is Not Stupid by DerFeuervogel · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Nearly all software creations fail this simple litmus test.

    Has it occurred to anyone that maybe the patent office is smarter than
    we give them credit for. It's possible they realize that these patents
    are all unenforceable and is granting them in the hope that the whole
    software patent system implodes from the sheer number of bad patents.
    When it becomes clear that 80% of software patents are bad then they
    will suggest to the congress that this part of the patent system be
    scrapped. So in effect they are letting the system fall apart by
    inaction. Lets try to patent the bubble sort and see what happens:^)