For those that may not know, the US Patent Office granted Amazon.com the sole rights on ‘one-click shopping’. So if you’ve ever been annoyed that some sites don’t simply keep track of your credit card number, it’s not because they don’t want to, or have the technical expertise, it’s because they are not allowed. They would have to pay Amazon in order to have this functionality.
But this story is an interesting one. Some guy who was ticked off at Amazon.com, did a bit of research and found several similar patents that pre-date the Amazon patent. The US Patent Office has opened the question back up, and Amazon must now go and prove that they do in fact have the rights to keep others companies from storing your credit card number.
Personally I find the fact that you can patent something like that mind boggling. Let’s hope that something good comes out of action being taken by congress, although if you are expecting politicians to make a good decision, well… I have this bridge for sale.
