Amazon.com

1
Amazon.com one-click

• Internet and software patent law
• Mike Foley
• Matt Landis
• Matt Clark
• Farman Syed

2
Background

• "The patent system added the fuel of interest to
  the fire of genius."
• - Abraham Lincoln (only U.S. President to be
  issued a patent)
• Patent debate not new
• U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8
• Are we the first group to mention this?
• Patents originally unpopular
• Popular periods
• Industrial Revolution
• 1970s (biotech)
• 1990s (computers)

3
Software Patent History

• Patent requirements
• 1. Statutory
• 2. New
• 3. Useful
• 4. Non-obvious
• Software originally non-patentable
• Mathematical formula (not statutory)
• 1990s - Patent Office changes policy
• Processes tied to real-world can be patented

4
Amazon.com and 1-Click

• 1997 - Amazon applies for 1-Click patent
• Purchasing process for repeat ordering without
  re-entry of personal information
• BN implements a similar process called Express
  Lane
• Amazon sues BN for infringement
• Express Lane violates 1-Click patent
• Settled out of court

5
Issues

• Prior Art
• Burden of proof
• Sufficient amount
• Obviousness
• Usefulness
• Ambiguity

6
Amazon.coms perspective

• Insufficient prior art
• Seattle court case
• bountyquest.com
• Useful
• BN
• Apple

7
Amazon.coms perspective

• Self-defense
• BN
• Non-obvious method
• Lockwood, Web Basket
• Little prior art
• Patent application in 1997
• Need to support patent system
• Encourages future patentees

8
Ethical Cons

• Amazons enforcement of their patent is
  hypocritical
• Several free yet patentable products helped
  Amazon in early stages
• CEO of Amazon calls for patent reform, yet wont
  give up patent in question
• Patent enforcement is detrimental to
  technological innovation

9
Legal Issues Against Amazon

• Single click occurs after customer has decided
  to purchase a given item
• Specifically, after locating an items page on
  the site
• Problem Patent is based on the process users
  state of mind

10
Hypothetical Situations

• Only Customer 1 fits Amazons process paradigm
• Key is at what point the decision to buy is made

11
Other Legal Issues

• Prior art may exist
• Compuserve Trend system
• Web Basket 1996
• Japan set to reject patent
• Prior art User Interface Design by Alan
  Cooper
• Patent may be obvious
• Other technical professionals claim it is just a
  rudimentary implementation of HTTP cookies

12
Social Implications

• Setting of case precedence
• Empowering of large companies
• Large legal teams for patent protection
• Public examination (online forums, etc.)
• Outcry from civil rights communities
• Satirical Responses

13
Future

• Patent regulations changing
• Increase in likelihood of software
  patents/business methods
• Continued scrutiny from developer groups
• Examination of possible patent infringements by
  businesses

14
Sources

• http//www.gnu.org/philosophy/amazon.html
• http//www.bitlaw.com/software-patent/history.html
  
• http//www.around.com/patent.html
• http//www.op.net/pbd/amazon-1click.html
• http//www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,24439,00
  .html
• http//www.oreilly.com/news/patent_archive.html
• http//www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,34887,
  00.html
• http//www.theregister.co.uk/content/23/24345.html
  
• http//www.gcwf.com/articles/ipu/ipu_sum00_1.html