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Amazon Seeks '2-Click' Shopping Cart Patent

Posted by timothy on from the more-numbers-on-the-way dept.

theodp writes "Looks like Amazon's really getting back in the patent game. Today, the USPTO published Amazon's patent application for conducting electronic commerce using multiple shopping carts. Using the invention, a shopper purchasing items for five relatives can set up one shopping cart for each relative, a shopper purchasing books for Johnny can name one of his shopping carts "Johnny's books", and a shopper can add items to multiple shopping carts with only two mouse clicks." This might also be a good time to point out to those who didn't see it the first time AOL's patent claims regarding "Instant Message" technology; you may be able to think of some prior art.

3 of 221 comments (clear)

  1. In European Onion by Anne+Thwacks · · Score: 3, Interesting
    In Europe, I am pretty sure that this is not patentable. (No software patents, no patents on business methods)

    If your server is located in Europe can AOL ask Bush to bomb you for failing to comply with American patents? Even if you are not a muslim?

    --
    Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
  2. Already Been Thought of, Still Patentable? by DrMaurer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I had this idea when the whole "fiasco" of "Amazon Thinks I'm Gay," and I even posted it on Ars Technica's open forum and (I think) here.

    Does anyone actually know when an idea like this is patentable? Is it the prototype stage or just when the idea comes and the papers are filed? Could I have actually filed the papers a month ago? Or does the fact that the papers were published today mean that they filed it much longer before I thought of it (1-2 months ago)?

    Just wondering, even if justified, I lack the resources to fight such a thing.

    I just think having a patent would be kind of cool. Of course, I also spend half my day figuring out how to eliminate my own job at work, so . . .

    And the IM patent: I wonder of the /msg in IRC could be considered prior art, or the "net send" command.

    --
    Dan
  3. Re:Next week on Slashdot: by The_Shadows · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Oddly, you may have stumbled on an amazing idea.

    If AOL would patent pop-up advertising, it would make all other pop-up ads in violation of patent, and AOL could demand all the money from any spammers who use pop-ups.

    Could that work? I mean, IANAL, but that would rock if only AOL could do pop-ups, or at least we'd know that AOL charged an arm and a leg to let anyone else do it.

    Next on the list: Flash ads, and e-mail spam!