Blogger Launches Review of One-Click Patent

A New Zealand blogger and actor has filed for a re-examination of Amazon.com's "One-Click" patent, one of the most hotly-debated business process patents in recent history.

New Zealand actor (and blogger) Peter Calveley got so annoyed with delivery of books from Amazon.com that he has successfully filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to re-examine the validity of Amazon.com’s notorious “One-Click” patent. The USPTO ordered the re-examination on May 12; Calveley paid the $2,520 re-examination fee in part from contributions made via his blog.

Amazon.com’s “One-Click” patent is one of the most controversial “business process” patents in recent history; via One-Click, users can select and buy an offered item with a single mouse-click, rather than having to go through a more cumbersome selection and confirmation process. Although many have opined that Amazon.com’s patent is overly broad and shouldn’t have been granted, few have been willing to stand up to it in the wake of a 1999 injunction granted Amazon.com against Barnes & Noble which forced the rival bookseller to stop using a single-click online purchasing method. The Barnes & Noble case was settled out of court, and other technology companies&