In case you haven't noticed, patent fever has taken over the
dotcom world. not long ago, Amazon.com made headlines when it was
awarded a patent for its "One-Click" technology, a
process that allows online shoppers to purchase goods with a single
mouse click. With patent in hand, Amazon.com can now prohibit
competitors and others from using the technology—or can
charge them to do so.
Amazon.com's not the only one doing it.
Corporateintelligence.com, a Web site based in New York City that
offers information about intellectual property issues, estimates 57
percent more new Internet-related U.S. patents were granted in 2000
than in 1997 and 1998 combined.
Patents can make fortunes for companies, as they give their
holders the right to preclude others from making, using or selling
their inventions. When it comes to the Net biz, patents can apply
to everything from technologies and products to business
processes—or all the above in a single patent.
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