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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.)
.... of Preorders. I stopped doing business with Amazon just over a year ago, when 3 seperate pre-orders I had placed didn't ship on time.
One of my stronger Geek attributes is I like to have certain things on Release day. A year or so ago, I was even willing to order on line and pay next day shipping to do so. We're talking a few movies here and there, and a couple of games. Geek stuff.
Roughly 12 months ago, the formerly reliable Amazon completely lost the ability to ship these preorders on the release date (or in some cases to arrive on the release date). This was rare before that point. In the rare instance that they would slip up, they would comp the shipping (after all I'm not paying next day so I can get the item a week later). Once this chronic problem turned up, they stopped making any sort of amends whatsoever.
Amazon has not seen dime one from me since that time, and will not in the future. I spent a LARGE amount of money with them prior to that.
I'm a bit amused to see a buy.com banner as I type this, as they are one of the companies who have gotten business from me since I dropped Amazon from my list. I don't preorder from ANYONE anymore though.
"Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
2. Change in customer info privacy policy
And the straw that broke the camel's back...
3. Charging existing customers higher prices than prospective new customers.
3a. After getting caught at (3) once, and apologizing for it, doing it again.
We used to spend quite a few bucks at Amazon. Haven't bought anything there in quite some time. Have no plans to buy there again.
This sort of patent should be called an unvention.
Sigmund
Let's hope.
We "liberals" (at least those of us formerly known as "independent thinkers" and now derisively and indescriminately labelled liberal because we disagree with SOME extreme right rhetoric) never thought of regulations as entertainment, just a necessary evil --- for these exact reasons.
Wealthy people don't get wealthy by being nice. They have a right to get wealthy -- but they don't have a right to thwart any in the path of their greed, in any manner they choose.
http://ob-la-blog.blogspot.com/
I too stopped patronizing Amazon.com after that stupid patent fiasco and their dishhonest privacy policy changes. I confirmed that my decision was indeed correct when I saw this book on their web site:
Understanding Loved Boys and Boylovers
When I cancelled my account and made reference to this book being the reason why, they just replied that they would cancel my account, but stood by the claim that they do not engage in censorship. Funny, I couldn't find any hardcore pornography on their web site. It isn't censorship, it's a choice of what you want to associate with your business. In my mind, Amazon wishes to lend legitimacy to men who would molest children.
good, elegant solutions to things like 1-click ordering can be more difficult to produce than it may first appear (emphasis mine)
This is the problem. You're not supposed to get a patent on something because it's hard to make, you're supposed to get a patent on it because it's hard to discover.
Both the 1-click and this are both simple excercises in using technology developed by others to do exactly what the technology was designed for.
Cookies were invented by Netscape. They store information on the client's computer. Basically, Amazon got a patent on using cookies to store information.
Bezos' defense is that "it took them lots of work to make".. well, that's what copyright is for.
The two options are that
Retailers (Amazon.Com) will keep a database of e-mail addresses and physical addresses with or without your permission this can be used to coordinate your visits to multiple retailers.
A morally flexible person who knows your e-mail address but not your physical address sends you a forged e-mail that perfectly mimics a retailer's (Amazon.Com) gift notification e-mail but sends the reply to an unscrupulus individual. WOOOOTTTTT!!!! This individual will now have your physical address and can really harass you.
God forbid anything be done to prevent these types of idiotic security holes but allow a fsking winpopup message to be sent over the internet and people are storming the streets.
Well, there is a better reason(IMHO). They promise not to give out your email adress unless you specify that you want them to. I used a brand new email adress for my account so I know it was them.
It began with the kind of spam that makes an effort to look legit, (like greatfamliyoffers.com) but deterioated into the regular extend-your-penis stuff in about a month.
I have an example of prior art that actually outdoes Amazon.
Once I ordered flowers online from FTD for a friend of mine for her birthday. I filled in all the info but put in the wrong month. (I wanted them delivered the next day)
At 9:00AM the next day a phone call wakes me up. The person says she is from FTD and noticed I scheduled the delivery six months in the future. Thank god they caught that. The ended up delivering the flowers that day, in another country no less.
Can you patent good service?
Oddly, I wrote the first draft of what became that patent filing at Jeff's behest when I worked at Amazon.com from 1996 to 1997. Can't even recall why I was asked, but following the form of patent applications, I wrote out the ideas. Since I was an employee and not the inventor, I signed over all my rights. I was also under trade secrets restrictions because of my employment agreement.
I always wondered what happened to that patent, and lo and behold, here it is! It's certainly nostagia for me, but I was a pretty naive guy about patents in those days, and I wrote the draft not as a lawyer, but just as a technical guy who understand the mechanisms.
I have a very different opinion of things today, although it was clear at the time I wrote it that what Jeff had come up with was, in fact, unique, original, and significant under the way the law is still interpreted.
Freelance tech journalist for the Economist, MIT Technology Review, Macworld, and others
So during the entire history of mail order since telephones were invented, a company finding that the delivery address given was incomplete and calling either the sender or the receiver to double-check or get directions has never occured and the process is therefore ingenious and patentable? This is stupid beyond the pale. And what's worse is they'll probably win simply because nobody ever thought to document doing something so basic.
Dyolf Knip
Bill Clinton -- that's right, the President whose term gave us the longest stretch of peace and prosperity in recent history
dude i was with you till this comment.. longest stretch of peace? he sent more military missions around the world then anyone else during his presidency.... sorry.. no respect for clinton for anything