Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Amazon Takes Pikachu To The Patent Office

Posted by Hemos on from the it's-not-"would-be-nice-to-catch-them-all" dept.

theodp writes "On Tuesday, Amazon was awarded a patent for Search Query Autocompletion. From the Summary of the Invention--'For example, if Pokemon toys are currently the best selling or most-frequently-searched-for items within the database, the term POKEMON may be suggested whenever a user enters the letters "PO," even though many hundreds of other items in the database may start with "PO.'" See, Amazon practices the mantra "Gotta catch 'em all" with patents.

8 of 334 comments (clear)

  1. Next year.. by grub · · Score: 5, Funny

    Amazon tries to patent:
    Patent Application 20040182-2774a - Fibrous cellulose sheeting for the removal of extraneous faeces from the posterior opening of the alimentary canal.
    --
    Trolling is a art,
    1. Re:Next year.. by brakk · · Score: 5, Funny

      then "one sheet wiping"

    2. Re:Next year.. by kzinti · · Score: 4, Funny

      Amazon tries to patent: Patent Application 20040182-2774a - Fibrous cellulose sheeting for the removal of extraneous faeces from the posterior opening of the alimentary canal.

      And in the bargain, giving a bizarre new meaning to the phrase "Prior Art."

  2. erm.. is this patent G rated? by trmj · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is so not gonna work unless they put a filter on it.

    If going by search engine queries is any example, pokemon is not the most commonly searched for word that begins with po...

    --
    Work sucked, until it became unemployment, when it became slightly more tolerable. -Tet
  3. Quick! by mattsucks · · Score: 5, Funny

    Someone patent searching for '*' and '%', which between them will cover all other searches! ...
    3. Profit!

  4. Quick! by da3dAlus · · Score: 4, Funny

    Everyone go there and search for goatse.cx!

    --

    Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
  5. Patents are good! by Basje · · Score: 4, Funny

    Let me get this straight. This is what they patented, right?

    select * from items where name like 'PO%'
    order by number_of_requests_last_week

    I'm really glad that I'm studying to become an IP lawyer. The more stupid patents, the merrier :)

    --
    the pun is mightier than the sword
  6. Bad example by arvindn · · Score: 5, Funny

    When the user starts typing PO, obviously your first suggestion should be PORN :)