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Amazon's Winding Course Through the Patent Jungle

ericjones12398 writes "On one hand, Amazon is not exactly short on patents themselves. The 'non-exhaustive list' on the company's site is a tidy little bundle of e-commerce IP, with a few questionable software patents — including a 1-click buying method, a Lodsys-baiting in-app purchasing method and a social networking patent, all of which have achieved a somewhat notorious reputation. Indeed, the last fiscal year was as significant for Amazon's litigation as for the company's behind-closed-doors acquisitions."

5 of 13 comments (clear)

  1. One Click by eWarz · · Score: 2

    IIRC Amazon has successfully sued (and won) over the one click patent in the past. I could be wrong though.

  2. Cliffhanger by ceoyoyo · · Score: 3, Informative

    And on the other hand?

    *Skims the article*

    Oh, the "other hand" seems to be talking about patents the author thinks Amazon would like to have. So not really the other hand at all.

    I'm not going to comment on whether Internet journalism has decreased the quality of information in news articles, but it certainly seems to have decreased the quality of writing.

    1. Re:Cliffhanger by postbigbang · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Blogs != journalism.

      There is Internet journalism, it is rare today, and some of it can be found on blogs. But the intersection of sets of journalism and blogs produces a small number at best.

      --
      ---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
    2. Re:Cliffhanger by postbigbang · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Journalists have done little to dispel the notion. Bloggers, OTOH, have done much to try to make themselves look like journalists. Often both sides succumb to their own bias, repeat memes as fact, and believe that they're somehow at war with a real or imagined foe. The corporate pressure to ally themselves with other corporate clients also instills a discipline onto the output of journalists, especially freelancers, by purchase of articles that when added together, ally a bias towards the publisher's customers. Truly free and unbiased journalism and research is wickedly difficult to come by these days.

      --
      ---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
  3. Re:Fuck Amazon by Kenja · · Score: 5, Funny

    Think you need this...

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"