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Amazon Gift Ordering Patent Revoked In EU
Elektroschock writes "The Amazon gift ordering patent was revoked by the European Patent Office. In a press release they write: 'The so-called 'Gift Order Patent' has been revoked by the EPO in an opposition proceeding today after a hearing involving three opposing parties and the patent proprietor, Amazon Inc. The patent relates to a method for purchasing goods over the Internet to be sent as gifts.' Santa did not have to lodge opposition against the patent. The opponents were Fleurop, the FFII and the German computer science society. What strikes me is that so many parties were infringing upon the patent, and yet you need very few organizations to file an opposition. Why are not more patents opposed?"
Then again, the upside is that you won't get sued by the corporation that had the gall to patent some absurd process in the first place and consequently be put out of business. The major problem, especially with the US patent office, is that patent examiners are paid on a quasi-commission scale. The more patents they approve, the better. They review patent applications with the question of whether there's any reason they absolutely cannot approve the application, not whether the application warrants approval. Until that's changed, anything that isn't blatantly stupid or already patented will be approved. In general, European patent offices are a bit more cautious (the reason the ridiculous "one click" patent was never approved there) - I'm somewhat surprised this one made it through to begin with.
Please correct your links about FFII Europe:
http://ffii.org/
http://eupat.ffii.org/07/12/amazon07/
AFFII is for United States
http://www.affii.org/ is for the United States.
Software and business method patents aren't allowed in Europe, and this "invention" seems to be a method of carrying on business implemented in software - someone buys something, and the vendor contacts the recipient to get a shipping address.
In the US, however, such patents are permitted, so challenging it would be a bit more difficult.
July 2005: The Grinch Who Patented Christmas.
The answers to the question are fairly straightforward:
1. The US doesn't have an 'opposition' system, where you can make your claims before a court to oppose the patent. All you can do is (first pay some money) give your evidence to the USPTO, and then go away and hope the applicant can't explain their way around it. Therefore, only European patents can be opposed.
2. A European patent can only be opposed in this fashion within 9 months of it being granted.
3. Other reasons as given above: if I win, it benefits everybody, but if I lose, it costs me greatly. My competition now has a proven good patent, and they know I don't like it. I'll be the first to be sued.
Despite all this, about 1 in 20 EP granted patents are opposed. The US has an opposition system planned as part of the Patent Reform Act of 2007, but it's currently held up before the Senate.
Well it is the same as giving the florist the phone number of the recipient and asking them to phone her to find out where they should be delivered to. That clearly is not patentable, so European law says that doing it using a computer isn't patentable either.
Noone is not a word. You're probably looking for "no one".
ever do manage to sneak Software Patents past the EU Parliament
Or widen the approach to enforce US-law: US says it has right to kidnap British citizens
CC.
TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)