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Amazon Seeks Personal Search History Patent

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the buy-a-copy-with-just-one-click dept.

theodp writes "The USPTO has published Amazon.com's patent application for Persistently storing and serving event data, which describes a9.com's personal search history feature and lists a9.com CEO Udi Manber as an inventor. Interestingly, claim 48 describes a user interface that responds to a user's request to "delete" his search history by rendering it "undisplayable" to him, but still leaving it accessible for other uses. When filed back in 2003, Amazon asked the USPTO not to publish the application, but rescinded that request last May, presumably in anticipation of its filing for an international patent."

3 of 148 comments (clear)

  1. Right idea, wrong title... by aendeuryu · · Score: 5, Funny

    Interestingly, claim 48 describes a user interface that responds to a user's request to "delete" his search history by rendering it "undisplayable" to him, but still leaving it accessible for other uses.

    Holy cow. I think they should change the patent claim from "Server architecture and methods for persistently storing and serving event data" to plain old "Evil".

  2. Ama-Zen Riddle by Joe12Pack · · Score: 5, Funny

    Once all evil in the world is patented, will there be any option but to be good? -- or will companies pay to license evil.

  3. Amazon has patented spyware !! by TakaIta · · Score: 5, Funny
    "The event history server may also record event data descriptive of other types of browsing events, such as impressions (i.e., items presented to users on dynamically generated web pages) and mouse-over events."

    Does this mean that Amazon now should be considered to be spyware?