One-Click lives again
The infamous Amazon "One-Click" patent, which has been going through re-examination in the US thanks to the efforts of determined New Zealander Peter Calveley, has apparently squeezed through the system yet again with the help of a few crafty amendments.
In the notes of an interview held on 15 November, the US examiners stated that the following proposed amendments "appear to place the claims in condition for patentability", although they made the caveat that further review and search would be required (whatever that might mean).
[Note: for those reading this via the IPKat email service, you may need to go to the web version to see the claims]
To this Kat's trained eye, the amended claims seem to be simply stating that the scope of the invention is now limited to it being used independently of a "shopping cart model". This is how the invention appears to be used in practice (right: taken from amazon.co.uk). Amazon have, however, apparently given up on the general claim to one-click shopping, which was shown to be previously known.
Although Mr Calveley is claiming that this result is "mission accomplished", the IPKat fails to see how this is really much of a success. Amazon have come away with claims that cover the thing they presumably really want to protect, and the case demonstrates many of the things that are seen by some to be wrong with the US patent system (to see how Amazon fared in Europe, see the previous IPKat post here).
More details can be found through the USPTO Public PAIR system for US 90/007,946, and on Peter Calveley's blog here.
In the notes of an interview held on 15 November, the US examiners stated that the following proposed amendments "appear to place the claims in condition for patentability", although they made the caveat that further review and search would be required (whatever that might mean).
[Note: for those reading this via the IPKat email service, you may need to go to the web version to see the claims]
To this Kat's trained eye, the amended claims seem to be simply stating that the scope of the invention is now limited to it being used independently of a "shopping cart model". This is how the invention appears to be used in practice (right: taken from amazon.co.uk). Amazon have, however, apparently given up on the general claim to one-click shopping, which was shown to be previously known.
Although Mr Calveley is claiming that this result is "mission accomplished", the IPKat fails to see how this is really much of a success. Amazon have come away with claims that cover the thing they presumably really want to protect, and the case demonstrates many of the things that are seen by some to be wrong with the US patent system (to see how Amazon fared in Europe, see the previous IPKat post here).
More details can be found through the USPTO Public PAIR system for US 90/007,946, and on Peter Calveley's blog here.