Slashdot Mirror
Patent Sought For Amazon Marketplace
theodp writes "On the same day CEO Jeff Bezos launched Amazon's Search Inside the Book feature, a 'completely new way for people to find the books they want,' the USPTO published Bezos' patent application for User interfaces and methods for facilitating user-to-user sales. Ironically, searching for 'Amazon' won't turn up Bezos' patent application--the claims are illustrated with example web pages for the hypothetical 'Store.com', as seen through the eyes of 'Sally Small', 'Larry Large', and 'Barry Buyer.' References are made to other patent applications, presumably Amazon's, that describe a way to efficiently create links to bank accounts, the use of product viewing and purchase histories to identify related products, an electronic catalog search engine, the use of a browse tree for navigating a catalog by category, a wish list service, and a service for allowing users to post product reviews for viewing by others." I've used Amazon Marketplace to buy a fair number of things - it's too bad such a cool service has to be "patented", because you know, the concept of people selling to other people is obviously a new one. *sigh*
The idea of allowing customers to list items for a sale along side amazon.com's own listings (marketplace) is beyond a unique idea, it is a process and therefor it is something that can be patented.
Do we know how much money www.amazon.com put into research and development on this system?
Why shouldn't they have the right to protect their investment, their invention(!) against other on-line retailers. Everything www.amazon.com does gets copied, don't even try to bring "but Walmart can't patent this or that, etc.." with on-line retailers it's their web-site and the user interface processes that make the difference in losing and sustaining customers, why should other on-line retailers have the right to steal an idea and implement it in their site without helping pay for it's invention.
You people make me sick.