IBM Sues Amazon Over Patents
IBM Sues Amazon Over Patents
by , 3:00 PM EDT, October 23rd, 2006
IBM on Monday said it has filed a pair of lawsuits against Amazon.com, alleging that the online retailer has infringed on five patents, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required). IBM has licensed the patents to other companies and has tried to work with Amazon.com "over a dozen times since 2002," but it "has refused every time," according to the court filings.
The patents include technologies that deal with customer recommendations, advertising, and data storage. The Wall Street Journal characterized them as "broad" and said that some of them were originally filed in the 1980s. The newspaper also noted that Amazon.com's well-known "one-click patent" is currently under review by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office after receiving criticism that it was "overly broad and obvious."
John E. Kelly, IBM's senior vice-president for intellectual property, said of his company's patents: "These are very fundamental inventions for e-commerce and how to do it on the network. Much, if not all, of Amazon's business is built on top of this property.'' Amazon.com declined to comment.
Observer Comments
Comments are currently closed. Please email the author instead.
Recent Headlines - Updated March 21st
- Fri, 5:55 PM
- Games - Namco Releases Match-Three Game Tinseltown Dreams to the App Store
- 5:16 PM
- News - iPad Launch Day Deadline for Developers: March 27
- 5:11 PM
- News - Steve Jobs Helps Promote Organ Donor Legislation
- 4:06 PM
- iPad - VIVmag Shows Off Interactive iPad Version in the Works
- 3:07 PM
- App Store - Microsoft Yanks Bing App From Foreign App Stores
- 2:05 PM
- iObserver - Analysts Downgrade Troubled Palm Amid Severe Revenue Drop
- 1:35 PM
- In-Depth Review - PhoneSuite MiLi Packs a Powerful Punch
- 1:11 PM
- News - YouTube to Viacom: Sue Yourself
- 11:34 AM
- Product News - PocketMac for BlackBerry 5 Improves Snow Leopard Support
- 10:59 AM
- News - Apple iGroups Patent Hints at Social Networking Plans
- 10:20 AM
- Hot Forum Topic - Reader Discussion: Who Will Buy Palm?
- 9:50 AM
- News - Bharti Airtel Lands India iPhone 3GS Deal
The Mac Observer Reader Specials
- TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com
Mac Memory and Hard Drives: MacBook Pro Memory 8GB kits $349.99! iMac Memory 4GB DDR Kits for $109.99! Mac Pro Memory 4GB Kits for $135.99! Mac Hard Drives 1.5TB Seagate SATA II for $147.99! Click Here!
- CarMD Handheld Device & Mac/PC Software System saves you time and money on car maintenance and repair. Buy at www.CarMD.com! Save $10 with code TMO2.
If you're using a Mac, then you've gotta check out Full Tilt Poker for Mac. This Full Tilt Poker bonus code does the unthinkable, it actually rewards!For the latest Apple products use Ciao, a price comparison website, to find laptops like MacBook Air. Then find the best prices on MP3 players and use our comparison tool to evaluate mobile phones like the Apple iPhone.

