By Sandeep Junnarkar, 21 July 2003 05:46
NEWS Pinpoint, a company that says it holds several ecommerce patents, sued Amazon.com on Thursday for allegedly violating its business method patents. The suit, filed in the US District Court in Chicago, also named six of Amazon's affiliated retail partners, including Borders Group, Target, Toys "R" Us and CDNow. The lawsuit claims that Amazon violated Pinpoint's personalisation technology patents - a service popularised by Amazon that allows ecommerce retailers to recommend related products or newer items to shoppers based on their purchase history at the site. Amazon spokesman Bill Curry said the company had yet to review the suit. Amazon finds itself on the other end of a lawsuit involving controversial patents known as business method patents. In 1999, Amazon sued Barnes&Noble.com for allegedly copying Amazon's patented 1-Click technology. Business method patents go beyond protecting invented technology and actually involve patenting a business process. Amazon's suit unleashed several more of its kind, including Priceline.com's suit against Microsoft and its Expedia service for infringing on Priceline's business model built around its technologies that allow consumers to 'name their price' for products and services. Even eBay last year faced a similar suit. Business patent suits, however, have also come under criticism. Last fall, the head of the US Patent and Trademark Office admitted that many business method patents had been wrongfully awarded in the past. Pinpoint lists about a dozen of its technology patents on the company's website. Sandeep Junnarkar writes for CNET News.com.
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