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USPTO Imposes 'Undue Hardship' On 1-Click Lawyers

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the crack-of-noon dept.

theodp writes "Looks like Amazon's high-priced Silicon Valley attorneys will have to endure the 'undue hardship' of awakening early next Thursday morning to defend CEO Jeff Bezos' 1-Click patent in a Video Hearing before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. The attorneys' plea for a 1 p.m. ET start time drew a be-there-at-9-or-be-square response from the USPTO. The 1-Click patent has fallen into disfavor lately with USPTO Examiners, who no longer have the same boss who once sent a 1-Click love letter to the WSJ arguing that the merits of Amazon's patent were proven by a contest run by a Jeff Bezos-financed company, an argument that was later rejected by Congress."

10 of 96 comments (clear)

  1. Timezones by adam1234 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They're not really complaining about the fact that it's 9 AM, but that in their timezone it will be only 6 AM. It's hardly fair to fault them for that.

    1. Re:Timezones by pembo13 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      How much are they being paid?

      --
      "Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
    2. Re:Timezones by Helios1182 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      More than enough to wake up early one day.

    3. Re:Timezones by spyowl · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Errr... They refused to attend the hearing in person that they themselves requested! Now they are claiming undue hardhip because they are in a different timezone? What if they were on vacation in Turkey? Would they have asked the office to open at midnight and video conference them in because any other time it would be an "undue hardship" for the timezone the lawyers reside in?

    4. Re:Timezones by mikelieman · · Score: 3, Insightful

      They CHOSE to have it via teleconference.

      They are OBLIGATED to travel to the Court in DC. They got what they asked for.

      --
      Technology -- No Place For Wimps! Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Chatroom -- http://www.wemissjerry.org
  2. The Company Hangs on 1-Click? Balderdash! by reporter · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Does the fate of Amazon hang on which its exclusive rights to 1-click shopping? I am incredulous. What matters to me is the variety of the products, the quality of the products, the prompt arrival at my condominium, and the state of the product upon arrival. Amazon has defied the critics and proven to be a successful business model due to those 4 aspects.

    Often, customers cannot find the right product in the local store, which has a policy that "if it is not on the shelf, it is not in stock"; in response, customers can go to Amazon and likely find the exact product that they want. Amazon is the ultimate mail-order company online. it has taken the traditional Montgomery-Wards catalog, increased its size by a factor of 1000, and put it on the Web. Gosh. Can you even buy polonium-210 at Amazon?

    In short, Amazon is wasting money in trying to defend this patent. Can the typical customer be so stupid that 1-less-mouse-click is the deciding factor in whether to buy stuff at Amazon?

    1. Re:The Company Hangs on 1-Click? Balderdash! by Televiper2000 · · Score: 3, Informative

      It absolutely doesn't. According to this open letter http://www.oreilly.com/news/amazon_patents.html it's more of a stepping stone towards a larger crusade of reforming software and business model patents. I agree with some of the points he is making in the open letter. I for one would love to see a patent law that eliminates trolling. Patents should be limited to those making the real investment to bring an invention to market.

      --
      New! Device Legs: These legs will help your poor OEM installed product escape any hamfistedness it may encounter. Ava
  3. Two choices by mccalli · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Choice 1: Just get out of bed on time for that day.

    Choice 2: Get hotel in correct timezone, fly there two days before.

    et voila.

    Cheers,
    Ian

  4. Patenting Ideas by unlametheweak · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Although there may be valid prior art for the one-click patent, the real issue with me is that you can't and shouldn't be able to patent ideas. This is one of the most bizarre and unfair things I've ever heard of. If I had the time and money I'm sure I could patent two-click, three-click and all the other click shopping experiences. I would have a virtual monopoly on shopping. But stupid is as stupid does. Let's hope things improve.

  5. A Silly and Dangerous Feature by GameboyRMH · · Score: 3, Insightful

    For anyone who might seriously not know what the one-click feature is for, it's the impulse buying button. Someone sees something they think is AWESOME, they say "Whoa I gotta have that!" and hastily hit the one-click-purchase button. The idea is that the customer won't go through the lengthy ordeal of cancelling the order afterwards. I'm sure there are people dumb enough to fall for such a silly tactic, but I was very careful to make sure I had it turned OFF when this feature was implemented. And even now it sits on the right hand side of my Amazon pages waiting to be turned on. I'd like it turned off thank you very much, as I'd like to review my order carefully before placing it, and I'd hate to accidentally click on it (a real possibility with a pesky laptop touchpad) while taking a look at a PS3, high-end gaming system, or fancy new smartphone.

    It's a silly gimmick, but it must be making money for Amazon to go through this much trouble over it.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel