Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Amazon May Lose ‘1-Click’ Patent

Angry customer started campaign; online seller will get re-draft try

By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 17, 2007 5:16 PM CDT
Email

(Newser) – Amazon may be one patent poorer after the US Patent Office decimated its claim to the “1-Click” shopping cart emblem yesterday—throwing into question a 1999 infringement settlement with Barnes & Noble. The online orderer will have a chance to re-write its application, Ars Technica reports, but stands to lose the patent altogether after the patent office rejected 21 of its original 26 claims.

Disgruntled customer Peter Calveley initiated the campaign after a tardy order, and dug up evidence of prior “1-Click” art, then raised money online to pay the fee needed to challenge the 1997 patent.  "I wasn't frothing at the mouth to destroy them," Calveleley told the web site Out-Law.com last year, after filing his complaint. Still, he added, "They deserve to be smacked down."

FILES) Amazon.com Chairman and CEO Jeff Bezos discusses new features...
FILES) Amazon.com Chairman and CEO Jeff Bezos discusses new features...   (Getty Images)
Jack Nugent sorts boxes ready for shipment at Amazon.com's West Coast distribution center in Fernley, Nevada. Workers grab empty boxes from an overhead conveyor line and pack items for shipment.
Jack Nugent sorts boxes ready for shipment at Amazon.com's West Coast distribution center in Fernley, Nevada. Workers grab empty boxes from an overhead conveyor line and pack items for shipment.   (KRT Photos)
An Amazon Fresh grocery delivery arrives in brown paper bags at a residence on Mercer Island, Wash., Thursday, Aug. 23, 2007. Amazon Fresh is a new grocery delivery service being tested by Amazon.com in a handful of Seattle neighborhoods including Mercer Island. Amazon.com has deployed a fleet of...
An Amazon Fresh grocery delivery arrives in brown paper bags at a residence on Mercer Island, Wash., Thursday, Aug. 23, 2007. Amazon Fresh is a new grocery delivery service being tested by Amazon.com...   (Associated Press)
Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com, founder and CEO, takes questions from shareholders during the Amazon shareholders meeting in Seattle in this June 14, 2007 file photo. Amazon.com Inc. is expected to release quarterly earnings on Tuesday, July 24, 2007. (AP Photo/Marcus R. Donner, file)
Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com, founder and CEO, takes questions from shareholders during the Amazon shareholders meeting in Seattle in this June 14, 2007 file photo. Amazon.com Inc. is expected to release quarterly...   (Associated Press)
An Amazon.com employee stacks boxes containing copies of J.K. Rowling's book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, inside the Amazon.com fulfillment center in Fernley, Nev., Monday, July 16, 2007. The 7th and final Harry Potter installment goes be on-sale July 21, 2007. (AP Photo/David Calvert)
An Amazon.com employee stacks boxes containing copies of J.K. Rowling's book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," inside the Amazon.com fulfillment center in Fernley, Nev., Monday, July 16, 2007....   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

Out-law.com's coverage of Calveley
Out-law.com

Peter Calveley's blog
igdmlgd

The patent in question
US Patent & Trademark Office

 
1 Click • patent • Amazon.com • Barnes & Noble

More Newser Stories

E-Readers Abound, But Market Looks Gloomy

Unreleased Kennedy Memoir Climbing Bestseller Lists

Retail Politics Entangle Book on Obama

Gibson Sues Over Guitar Hero

Lawsuit: We Invented the Web, So Pay Up Google
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne