There are a good number of affiliate programs that predate Amazon's application, and a handful of programs that predate Amazon's program, entirely. When I researched "The Complete Guide to Associate and Affiliate Programs on the Net" (McGraw-Hill, 1999), I found that (among others): PC Flowers & Gifts' program was launched in 1994, Autoweb's program was launched in 1995, and CDNow's program was launched in early 1997 (months before the patent application).
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There are a good number of affiliate programs that predate Amazon's application, and a handful of programs that predate Amazon's program, entirely. When I researched "The Complete Guide to Associate and Affiliate Programs on the Net" (McGraw-Hill, 1999), I found that (among others): PC Flowers & Gifts' program was launched in 1994, Autoweb's program was launched in 1995, and CDNow's program was launched in early 1997 (months before the patent application).