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eBay May Lose 'Buy it Now' Button in Patent Case
Spamicles writes "A judge has delayed his ruling on the eBay patent infringement case. eBay has been involved in a legal dispute over the use of its popular "Buy it Now" button, which allows consumers to skip the bidding and purchase items on eBay directly. The patent suit was filed six years ago by MercExchange L.L.C. In May of 2003, a jury ruled in MercExchange's favor finding that eBay did in fact infringe on the patent, but in 2005 the US Supreme Court ruled that MercExchange was not automatically entitled to a court order blocking the offending service, essentially handing a victory down to patent reform advocates. However, the ruling by the Supreme Court does not affect the final judgment of the court."
That makes sense. Yay for software patents!
"Buy it later"
"Buy it after waiting 1 second" button.
Invalid Checksum. Retrying.
According to AP reports, the USPTO has looked at the patents issued to MercExchange, and in early findings, the USPTO said that the patents held by MercExchange should not have been issued.
Aye!! You just sneezed!! I have a patent on this style of sneezing! Pay me $$$$ !!
Aye! You just did a double click using the mouse! I own the patent for double clicking! Pay me now!!
Aye!! You just farted!! It smells crap!! ta-da..patent... I will sue ya!!
I wonder what other patents were granted in the past...
Buy it immediately?
Purchase now?
Screw the bidding?
Screw the bidders?
Screw Flanders?
You are reading a sig. Cancel or allow?
MercExchange patents 'buy it now' - Thank You!
Ebay negotiates a license - How much you want?
Ebay doesn't get a license - Whoa! That's too much
Ebay intentionally uses it anyway - What are they gonna do, sue us?
MercExchange brings a lawsuit against Ebay - Yes
Judge rules in favor of MercExchange - I can see your name on the patent
Judge misapplies injuction process - this stuff is complicated
Ebay appeals the injuction - HaHa! a technicality
Judges rule that the injunction was done wrong - I can see the process wasn't followed
Judges also comment on current patent law - this shit sucks
MercExchange requests the injunction be applied permanently - we hate Ebay
Ebay requests postponement until patent is reassessed - No rush, we can wait 10 years
Judge must now make a decision - damned if I do, damned if I don't
Heh. Given that, say, the in-game auction house on WoW has an instant buy option too, I wonder how long until they'll want their cut there too.
;)
And will they take the license fee in game money, since that's all that changes virtual hands? I can just see a party of lawyers riding to Ironforge and Orgrimmar to demand their license fees.
Well, the dwarves might even pay up, but I'd worry about trying to collect from the Orcs. I doubt anyone explained to Thrall yet how the license system works. And troll tribes tend to kill each other on sight, so I'd advise the patent trolls to stay clear of the Darkspear trolls
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
There's a big difference between all of those other things that obviously can't be patented and the "buy it now" patent: the buy it now button is on the Internet.
You can patent anything from daily life by adding, "on the Internet" to it. For example, "getting up out of bed each morning and taking a piss" is clearly covered by prior art, but "getting up out of bed each morning and taking a piss on the Internet" was patentable (up until I posted this comment which should count as prior art).
You can do the same thing with other communication mediums: A method for ordering pita delivery (which is clearly covered by prior art), but then add...
on a mobile phone...
over a microwave relay link...
though an underwater hyrdophone...
by courier pigeon...
through a standalone kiosk with a touch screen...
etc...
And just like that you have a new innovative creation to push our modern idea driven economy forward!
Please look for my upcoming book entitled, How to Become a Modern Thomas Edison: the Art and Culture of Clubbing Your Competitors With Timeless Innovation.
Do they WANT to piss everyone off?
Yes. I think this is their entire business strategy.
if someone else said this, for I have not read all the comments.
Howabout
"Buy it later"
"Buy it this afternoon"
"Buy it with tea and crumpets"
"But it yesterday"
"But it whenever the hell you want"
"Just don't buy it"
"Huh?"
"Don't buy this, buy my socks"
?
(ok, the last one was a reach)
Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
I, for one, welcome our patent-enforcing Flanders-screwing overlords.
I never spellcheck and I freely admit it. Save your karma for more worthwhile "lol erorrs" replies
Buy from CowboyNeal
I would rather be killed by a terrorist than enslaved by my government.
... the USPTO 'Patent It Now' button's use continues unabated.
Have gnu, will travel.