Uber Pushing For Patent On Surge Pricing

mpicpp sends news that Uber is renewing its push for a patent on "surge pricing," the practice of increasing rider fees when many people are trying to find transportation. The system measures supply (Uber drivers) and demand (passengers hailing rides with smartphones), and prices fares accordingly. It’s one of at least 13 U.S. patent applications filed by Uber or its founders to give it an edge over potential rivals ahead of a potential initial public offering. So far, Uber hasn’t had any luck. Ten applications were initially rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for “obviousness” or for covering something not eligible for protection.

Comments

not original

[bloodhawk]

Surge pricing I would have thought falls under the obvious category. It is simply pricing for supply and demand. higher prices bring in more suppliers and reduce the buyers. most businesses don't do it because it is difficult to manage and can cause a lot of customer aggro not because they are not aware of the supply and demand models.

Re: not original

[rtb61]

I hope one day you find yourself hanging from a cliff and just before the person reaches down to help you they say, agree to hand over all your assets or I will divert my resources to else where and assure you, that you can always wait for a more competitive offer. Perhaps a fire brigade that agrees to buy your house for 50% of it's value or they will not put out the fire. Price gouging practices inevitably leads to people creating disasters in order to exploit them. Creating monopolies are the same idea. So no, your ideas suck and they are grossly anti-social and have no place in a modern society.

Patenting Supply & Demand?

[BoRegardless]

Adam Smith disclosed that centuries ago.