USPTO Convinced By Amazon That Online Gift Giving Patent Is Legit

from the how-amazon-stole-christmas dept

Mon, Nov 23rd 2009 2:38pm — Mike Masnick

Amazon continues to aggressively pursue variations on its "one-click" patent, even as it is repeatedly held up as an example of how screwed up the patent system has become. In the latest story, found on Slashdot, a patent application for method of buying gifts online was originally rejected under the CAFC's recent Bilski rules because the invention "may be performed largely within the human mind." But the wonders of some sophisticated wordsmithing have apparently won over some at the USPTO. Good thing Santa doesn't have a website, or he might infringe.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: gift giving, one click, patents
Companies: amazon, uspto

21 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

rw (profile), 23 Nov 2009 @ 1:39pm

USPTO
"Slower" than a Moron in a hurry?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Dark Helmet (profile), 23 Nov 2009 @ 2:48pm

Ah, Santa....
"Good thing Santa doesn't have a website, or he might infringe."

Can there BE a bigger criminal against IP laws than Santa Claus? After all, I was told that he and his elves made me all my shit that I got and then delivered it to me.

It seems fairly obvious, being as how I used to get a lot of namebrand stuff for Xmas, that Santa Claus is guilty of trademark infringement, copyright infringement, and probably patent infringement as well. Worse, he isn't just making and copying this toys for himself...he's DISTRIBUTING it.

So I say to you, Santa Claus, you wiley fat madman, it might be a good idea to get some chaff installed on that sleigh of yours and teach Rudolph some evasive manuevers, because I expect a couple of SAM missile batteries to be firing away when you illegally cross our borders without a workers visa....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Luci, 24 Nov 2009 @ 1:16am
  
  Re: Ah, Santa....
  You forgot about the criminal trespass and breaking and entering to leave his illicit goods in an unsuspecting person's home.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Dark Helmet (profile), 24 Nov 2009 @ 6:55am
    
    Re: Re: Ah, Santa....
    "You forgot about the criminal trespass and breaking and entering to leave his illicit goods in an unsuspecting person's home."
    
    Why would our corporate governors care if their citizen's homes are being broken into when there is all that deadly infringement to go after?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
vyvyan, 23 Nov 2009 @ 2:57pm

I think USPTO is second most [corrupt/bully/stupid/(put anything as per your convenience)] department in US, next only to NSA.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Mike Masnick (profile), 23 Nov 2009 @ 3:46pm
  
  Re:
  I think USPTO is second most [corrupt/bully/stupid/(put anything as per your convenience)] department in US, next only to NSA.
  
  I actually think the USPTO is quite well meaning, if confused. I would suggest that there are other aspects of the government that are significantly more corrupt. The USPTO just reached the unfortunate situation where it started to believe its own marketing.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 24 Nov 2009 @ 5:01am
  
  Re:
  it doesn't help that they are woefully underfunded
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 23 Nov 2009 @ 3:03pm

The link calls up a page without any identifying information that associates it with a specific application. Is there a more complete document to take a look at?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 23 Nov 2009 @ 4:02pm

So if Im reading this correctly Amazon just got a patent on an on line order with a ship to address that differs from the bill to address based on previous gifts you sent to the same recipient?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 23 Nov 2009 @ 6:04pm
  
  Re:
  Nah, it's more complicated than that. It also adds brand new invention called a "gift receipt" and a great idea of "crossing out price tags".
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 23 Nov 2009 @ 8:04pm

Just Wondering
I am just wondering whether any of the pundits pontificating on the claims have read the claims as allowed. I just finished reading them and wonder whether the claims are even useful to Amazon since they seems (to me) to be ridiculously narrow.

The primary elements of the allowed claims are that the computer detects that insufficient information was provided by the gift giver, and the insufficient information is obtained from sources other than the giver and the recipient. I have not read the specification, but I have to wonder how many companies even do what the claim requires and how they can be sure the information obtained from a source that is not the giver and not the recipient would be valid.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Frosty840, 23 Nov 2009 @ 11:41pm

As I believe I recall saying when Techdirt covered the original rejection (no link to another Techdirt story, so I may be misremembering), this looks much more like a data-mining patent than anything to do directly with giving gifts.

Software patents are largely idiotic, though, even moreso than physical patents, so it's still a silly idea.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 24 Nov 2009 @ 5:36am
  
  Re:
  I agree that the patent appears to be for data mining. However, that brings up a huge concern for customers. How does anyone know that the information located is actually for the gift recipient? The claims clearly state that the information is not received either from the giver or the receiver, so there is a question of trust.
  
  Okay, so you mine the information. Big deal. What happens when you start sending gifts to the wrong person because you have two similar names and addresses, but only similar. In fact, the two people are completely different.
  
  While people may be dissing this patent, I just fail to see that it has any value to Amazon. Further, how would they ever know that anyone else is actually using the patent?
  
  I think people are making a big to-do about a patent with minimal value to anyone. Makes me recall the scene in "Hellfighters" where the board of directors is choosing the color of toilet paper for company owned gas stations. Sometimes people need to focus on real issues.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anon, 24 Nov 2009 @ 6:05am
    
    Re: Re:
    Once someone else figures out how to make this work, Amazon can step-in and say "we invented that - pay up!"
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 24 Nov 2009 @ 10:40am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Of course, someone has to reveal that they are doing it first, or else how would Amazon know? Good luck with that.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
staff3, 24 Nov 2009 @ 7:41am

caving
"Good thing Santa doesn't have a website, or he might infringe."

Good thing you're not the PTO, or we'd all be cave dwellers.

Patent reform is a fraud on America...
Please see http://truereform.piausa.org/ for a different/opposing view on patent reform.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Almost Anonymous (profile), 24 Nov 2009 @ 8:03am
  
  Re: caving
  I'm going to be blunt with you, shill. That page is one of the steaming-est piles of shit I've ever had the misfortune to view on the internet, worse than goatse, worse than 2G1C. I can't even comprehend the sickness in the mind of the person that wrote all that crap, much less the sickness in your mind for linking to it.
  
  On a side note, probably the biggest problem with patents in my opinion are the words, "A method and system for". Any patent that begins with those words should be summarily shredded.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Will Daniels (profile), 24 Nov 2009 @ 8:45am
  
  Re: caving
  To try to add some more constructive criticism of that "opposing view"...
  
  Junk Patents: "Unless you have a good patent, you will not get the money."
  
  That is often not the objective. Since investors won't touch a new company with an IP claim against them, it can be used to bully startups and close down competition, which is payment itself.
  
  Stifling Innovation: "Large companies like Microsoft who are the principal proponents of the Patent Reform Bill tend to primarily use their patents defensively"
  
  I would cite Microsoft's use of a universally agreed "junk patent" on FAT against TomTom as a prime example of why both those assertions are false.
  
  An "offensive" act against a vulnerable company that was inconveniently proving Linux as a viable platform for market-leading embedded devices.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 24 Nov 2009 @ 2:53pm
  
  Re: caving
  Was that page copy and pasted over from GeoCities?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Unique Gift For Everyone, 31 Jan 2010 @ 2:46am

I dont have any idea about this
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
dotdeals, 7 Apr 2010 @ 10:47pm

coupons, coupon, deals, discounts, freebies, sales, bargains, specials, offers, shipping"
DotDeals.com is an online shopping source for coupons, deals, free shipping, discounts, specials, offers and freebies for products and services from amazon stores.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]