Amazon Releases 1-Click Patent Sequel

theodp writes "Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is seeking a patent for coordinating the delivery of a gift. The invention was bundled with the 1-Click claims in this 1998 EPO filing, but its USPTO filing was allowed to lapse. Amazon refiled with the USPTO in July, 2002--a few months after settling the BN 1-Click lawsuit." Update: 12/13 05:35 GMT by T : Ben Silverman writes "Please note that Shel Kaphan is no longer the CTO of Amazon.com and has not been with the company for over three years. I apologize for any inconvience this has caused Mr. Kaphan and to readers for the error. Mr. Kaphan pointed out my error in an email this evening." (Kaphan is identified as CTO in the linked NY Post story.)

Comments

Amazon...

[Dalroth]

As far as I can remember I have not personally bought an item from Amazon since they were given the 1-click patent (actually, I technically think I started my boycott when they actually sued B&N over it).

I've also promoted alternative online retailers such as Buy.com and Fatbrain.com (now B&N) to my coworkers and friends every chance I had. On numerous occasions, this has resulted in at least hundreds of dollars in book purchases that would have otherwise gone to Amazon.com for work going to Fat Brain.

CDNow used to be my #1 stop for CDs. I frequently chose it over all other online retailers, local CD shops, and the big stores such as Best Buy. Quite frankly, they were the ONLY place that always had stocks of the kind of music I listen to which is unfortunately frequently difficult to find in America. The other day, they more or less switched over to Amazon.com with the CDNow logo stapled up front. I will never make another purchase from them again.

I can only hope others are doing the same. For all his talk about wanting to improve the patent system, Jeff Bezos is one of the prime examples of what is wrong with it and he is doing NOTHING to improve it, he is only covering his ass at the expense of others.

Bryan

Benjamin Franklin on patents

[msheppard]

Just read this last night in Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, and it really sums up my attitude:

"As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously."

This was after being offered a patent on the Franklin Stove. He basically gave the technology away. Same with the lightning rod.

M@

Boycotts Do Nothing, Unfortunately

[ksw2]

Weird, just five minutes before I read this, I was wondering what ever happened with the One-Click Patent (!) of lore...

When Amazon started that bullcrap, I switched all my online book-ordering to a comptetitor (bamm.com) and badmouthed them to everyone I know, as did many other geeks who were pissed about it. Then, suddenly, everyone forgot about it. Not long after, tons of weblogs once again started sporting Amazon ads on their site (cough*phpnuke*cough) and totally forgot about the patent idiocy.

This patent, too, will soon disapper from the headlines and from the minds of the people not long after.

Misconceptions hurt chances for Patent Reform

[JohnDenver]

Unless Sears had an automated system to email gift recipients to get thier shipping address in the 1800's, then no...

I invite you and others who obviously care about corruption in the patent system, to actually read this patent abstract. You will learn a bit of the terminology, and maybe get a little sense of what can and what can't be patented. I don't expect you guys to become patent attorneys, but if you're going to critisize a patent (let alone the patent system), atleast know what you're critisizing.

This fight to reform the patent system is rooted in influencing enough of the right people who can make the reform happen. In order to influence the people, we need to be well educated and well versed on the subjects. We can't afford these embarassing misconceptions. And I've read a lot of embarassing misconceptions.

How are we going to make everybody else easily understand our problem if we don't even understand our problem?

You're damn right I'm a liberal

[Daniel Dvorkin]

I agree with the parent post entirely, but I've got to comment on this line:

derisively and indescriminately labelled liberal because we disagree with SOME extreme right rhetoric

You say that like it's a bad thing. Well, okay, the "derisively" part is, but as for the rest of it ... label me a liberal all you want. It's a label I'll happily accept. Until Daddy Bush turned it into a dirty word in the 1988 campaign, "liberal" was a badge of honor in American history.

Thomas Jefferson was a liberal. Abraham Lincoln was a liberal. Both Roosevelts were liberals. JFK was a liberal. Bill Clinton -- that's right, the President whose term gave us the longest stretch of peace and prosperity in recent history -- was a liberal. And it's not just Presidents. Benjamin Franklin. Frederick Douglass. Martin Luther King.

I think I'm in pretty good company.

It's time to take back the word "liberal," to make it a term of pride instead of shame. Liberalism is the greatest force for improving the human condition the world has ever known. Conservatism is one of the greatest forces for dragging it down into the much where it's been for most of human history. Which label would you rather wear?

BOYCOTTS do little for Patent Reform

[JohnDenver]

Want to do something better than writing a letter to your representatives, or boycotting Amazon?

1. LEARN as much as you can about the patent system. Learn how to read patent abstracts, how to file a patent, and how patents are processesed.
2. LEARN about as many bogus claims as you can. LEARN EXACTLY why they are bogus.
3. EXPLAIN it to as many people as you can, as economical as you can, without putting them off...
4. Explain it to someone who can explain it back better than you can.
5. Learn how to explain it so well, that person whom you explained it to will want to explain it to someone else as good as you explained it to them.
6. Explain it to Slashdot

...AND ALWAYS...

6. Explain the TRUTH, not misconceptions and misinformation littered with fallicies.

MOST OF ALL: Do what this post is trying to do. Try to encourage as many people as you can to learn about the causes they care about, rather than just shouting opinions.

You didn't honestly think that people care about your opinions more than thiers?

Re:BOYCOTTS do little for Patent Reform

[sstamps]

Hey, I'm just a member of the choir here. I'm not paid to preach. :P

I didn't have a lot of time when I saw this article, and I've been in the activist seat plenty of times before on this and similar topics. Besides, this is Slashdot. Everyone here (that gives a crap, anyway) should be aware of the issues and of the many ways of making a positive difference.

BTW, I am not boycotting Amazon for the purposes of patent reform; I am spanking them for not having any character or the balls to resist abusing a broken system. I do spend a lot of time explaining such things to many people, both online and off, as I find the time. The REAL problem is that the patent system is pretty much "above the law" (well, it IS the law, but I digress). What I mean by that is that it is at least one level further removed from my control than many things the government does, so a change in it and the overall bad situation is a lot less likely to happen.

So, while I am fighting the war on the government representative front, I am also fighting it on the "abuser" front. While we wait for the (even slower in the case of the PTO and WIPO) wheels of reform to correct this gross manifest travesty, we might as well also punish those who abuse the existing broken system and fail to be responsible corporate citizens and help clean up the mess. Being part of the problem and not part of the solution is as unforgivable as causing the problem in the first place. Especially since many of those abusing the system are supporting its continued existence for their own selfish ends.

As a result, those on the wrong side of the fence in this issue deserve no quarter, and I am not about to give them any.

At any rate, I agree 100% with your list of suggestions; I knew someone would come through where I came up short.

Thanks again,