one click patent US5960411 Method and system for placing a purchase order at website
one click patent US5960411 i.e Method and system for placing a purchase order at website
Contents
Patent
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued US 5960411 for this technique to Amazon.com in September 1999. Amazon.com also owns the “1-Click” trademark.
On May 12, 2006, the USPTO ordered a reexamination[2] of the “One-Click” patent, based on a request filed by Peter Calveley.[3] Calveley cited as prior art an earlier e-commerce patent and the Digicash electronic cash system.
On October 9, 2007, the USPTO issued an office action in the reexamination which confirmed the patentability of claims 6 to 10 of the patent.[4] The patent examiner, however, rejected claims 1 to 5 and 11 to 26. In November 2007, Amazon responded by amending the broadest claims (1 and 11) to restrict them to a shopping cart model of commerce. They have also submitted several hundred references for the examiner to consider.[5] In March 2010, the reexamined and amended patent was allowed.[6][7][8]
Amazon’s U.S. patent expired on September 11, 2017.[9]
In Europe, EP application 1134680 on 1-Click ordering was filed with the European Patent Office but refused.[10] A related gift-ordering patent was granted in 2003, but revoked in 2007 following an opposition.[11]
In Canada, the Federal Court of Canada held that the One click patent could not be rejected as a pure business method since it had a physical effect. The Court remanded the application to the Canadian patent office for a reexamination.[12]
Licensing
Apple Inc.
Amazon.com in 2000 licensed 1-Click ordering to Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) for use on its online store.[13][14] Apple subsequently added 1-Click ordering to the iTunes Store[15] and iPhoto.[16]
Barnes & Noble
Amazon filed a patent infringement lawsuit in October 1999 in response to Barnes & Noble offering a 1-Click ordering option called “Express Lane.” After reviewing the evidence, a judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering Barnes & Noble to stop offering Express Lane until the case was settled.[17] Barnes & Noble had developed a way to design around the patent by requiring shoppers to make a second click to confirm their purchase.[18][19] The lawsuit was settled in 2002. The terms of the settlement, including whether or not Barnes & Noble took a license to the patent or paid any money to Amazon, were not disclosed.[20]
In response to the lawsuit, the Free Software Foundation urged a boycott of Amazon.com. The boycott was lifted in September 2002.[21]
TeacherLists
TeacherLists, an online supply list solution, made one-click back-to-school supply list shopping available through major retailers in 2017.