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Amazon Cries 'Uncle' to End IBM Patent Feud

Posted by Zonk on from the make-it-stop-make-it-stop dept.

theodp writes "Amazon will pay an undisclosed amount to IBM to settle a long-running patent feud, and the two companies have agreed to a long-term patent cross-licensing agreement. Information Week wonders if an insurance dispute prompted Amazon's settlement, noting that Atlantic Mutual sued Amazon back in March to escape any obligation to reimburse the e-tailer should it lose the case brought by IBM. Amazon had relied on Atlantic Mutual's backing in an earlier legal battle it waged against tiny InTouch. 'Amazon, whose chief executive, Jeff Bezos, is a vocal advocate of patent reform, has had numerous patent issues in the past. In 2005, the technology used in its 1-Click checkout system came under scrutiny as potentially infringing upon a similar product made by a small Virginia-based company called IPXL Holdings. Meanwhile, the US patent system itself is experiencing growing pains as Congress continues to explore the possibility of updating it to better serve the needs of the 21st-century business world.'"

3 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. Serve the needs of the business world by spun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's what patents are for, right? Serving the needs of the business world. Not fostering innovation amongst Citizens of the United States. Nope. Serving the needs of the business world.

    Just like Congress itself, I suppose.

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    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  2. Advice for survivors by russotto · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't play cards with a man named Doc
    Don't eat at a place called Mom's
    Never make a wager with a Sicilian when death is on the line
    Never pull on Superman's cape
    Don't spit in the wind
    Don't pull the mask off the old lone ranger
    Don't mess with Jim (unless you're Slim)
    Mess not with the mouse

    AND FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, DON'T GET IN A PATENT WAR WITH IBM.

  3. Minor clarification by Alsee · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Congress continues to explore the possibility of updating it to better serve the needs of the 21st-century business world.

    In case anyone was wondering, unsure, or confused about that, it means that Congress is talking about streamlining and further entrenching software patent insanity. That they want "better" and "more enforcible" stupid software patents.

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    - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.