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The Grinch Who Patented Christmas

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the in-the-future-everything-will-be-patented dept.

theodp writes "The USPTO has reversed its earlier rejection and notified Amazon that the patent application for CEO Jeff Bezos' invention, Coordinating Delivery of a Gift, has been examined and is allowed for issuance as a patent. BTW, Amazon was represented before the USPTO by Perkins Coie, who also supplied Bezos with legal muscle in his personal fight against zoning laws that threatened to curb the size of his Medina mansion (reg.) before the City of Medina eventually gave up on regulating the size of homes (reg.)."

2 of 207 comments (clear)

  1. Why not? by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    IBM walks to the patent office with a stack of patents every single week. I'm sure you can find plenty to pick on in their applications.

    Because IBM is the GNU/OSS and GNU/Linux golden boy company for taking on SCO? It's silly, but you know it's true.

    If you despise patent aggression, Amazon is not your poster child for patent abuse. Not even close. Amazon is taking a lot more than it's dishing out.

    Just wait until your little nothing e-commerce site gets reasonably big (yeah, right), than see if Amazon minds if you are "infringing" on one of their patents. How a nice day being OWNED.

    Not to mention that Amazon is often on the receiving end of patent aggression.

    Just because Amazon has been caught infringing on other peoples patents does not mean the patents they hold are a gross abuse of the patent system, in fact there is no relationship there at all.

    Disclaimer: I work for Amazon, but of course do not speak for them.

    You seem to speak pretty well for them. Pass you post by the PR / lawyer folks, did you?

    --
    "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
  2. Thanks! by Mark_MF-WN · · Score: 1, Flamebait
    On behalf of the world, I thank the US for once again lowering the bar for all of us. The USPTO is truly the archetype of corrupt lazy beauracries.

    Seriously -- when are Americans going to curb-stomp their government and government agencies back into reality? How long are the politics of fear and stupidity going to rule? How long until Americans stop voting for lizards, just to make sure that the wrong lizard doesn't elected? Or shirking the blame because they voted for Kodos?

    Bah. Stupid yankee assholes. I'd hate them if the rest of us weren't following in their footsteps as fast as we possibly can. I hassle my local parliment-monkey by email all the time (and I try to get through to him on the phone). What more can one do to fend of the scourge of American-style idiot-patents? In Canada, there's really nothing we can do about them, thanks to our patent treaties.