Amazon.com's 1-Click patent confirmed following re-exam

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is confirming Amazon.com's controversial 1-Click patent following a re-examination that lasted more than four years.

Amazon's 1-Click has come under a lot of fire over the years from critics who question whether such a broad technology should be patented at all. It refers to the process by which online shoppers make purchases with a single click, having previously entered their payment and shipping information.

The re-examination of Amazon's 1-Click patent was triggered back in 2006 when a New Zealand actor raised questions about it. At one point in the re-examination process, the U.S. Patent Office rejected many of Amazon's claims in the patent.

But according to a "notice of intent to issue a reexamination certificate" dated March 2 (pdf, 8 pages), the patent office is now satisfied with amendments that Amazon made back in 2007 that base many of the patent's claims on a "shopping cart model."

"The modified patent is still quite broad — especially since the leading retail ecommerce model still uses shopping carts," said Dennis Crouch, an assistant professor at the University of Missouri Law School and editor of the patent law blog Patently-O.

Crouch said the 1-Click patent, after Amazon's amendments, is "a slightly narrower version but essentially the same version." He added: "This case may be a public relations boon for supporters of patent reform that have been calling for an overhaul of the reexamination system."

The 1-Click patent, which lists Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos as one of its inventors, was filed in 1997 and refers to a "Method and system for placing a purchase order via a communications network." Amazon in the past has used 1-Click to sue rival bookseller Barnes & Noble and licensed the technology to Apple.

The patent is scheduled to expire in 2017.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule in April on the Bilski case, which some believe could have implications for 1-Click.

The case revolves around two men who seek to patent a way of hedging risk in commodities trading. The Supreme Court could use the case to weigh in on "business method patents" — a category that includes 1-Click — that patent ways of doing business rather than specific inventions.

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About Eric Engleman

ERIC ENGLEMAN is senior technology staff writer for TechFlash and the Puget Sound Business Journal, covering online retail giant Amazon.com. Engleman tracks Amazon's increasingly complex business, spanning ecommerce, Kindle, cloud computing, and more. He's been covering technology and other industries for the Business Journal since 2003.

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