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1-click patent family

Motivation

I help Peter Calveley in his request for the reexamination of the Amazon One-click patent. In this page I analyze the family of the One Click patent, and for each application, its examination and the prior art that was considered in said reexamination. Another page, 1-click analysis aims to
  1. analyze the subject matter claimed by 1-click;
  2. identify prior art;
  3. identify keywords to find prior art.
In 1-click prior art I analyze patent prior art identified in 1-click analysis.

Note that Peter is still looking for donations to pay the reexamination fee. Click on the Paypal button of this page to donate.

I created a mailing list, https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/pagebox-intellectualp. For questions related to this work. For information that could be of interest for parties whose objectives are different from ours send a mail to support@pagebox.net.

Family

The following figure depicts the family of the 1-click patent.

5,960,411 09/046,503 09/151,617 10/194,602 09/318,447 EP0902381 EP0927945

Patents and patent applications in this family claim two different scopes:
  1. the one-click scope relating to the capability to buy an item without checking out a shopping cart and filling a form with payment and shipping data;
  2. the gift scope relating to the capability to order a gift without entering comprehensive shipping data.
CIP stands for continuation in part.
EP0927945 was granted and entered the European opposition phase in which three parties opposed.

1-click patent

The 1-click patent was filed on September 12, 1997 and granted to Amazon on September 28, 1999 with number 5,960,411. This patent is entitled "Method and system for placing a purchase order via a communications network." The corresponding application number is 08/928,951. Inventors are Peri Hartman, Jeffrey P. Bezos, Shel Kaphan and Joel Spiegel.

Claim 1 reads

A method of placing an order for an item comprising:
  • under control of a client system,
    • displaying information identifying the item; and
    • in response to only a single action being performed, sending a request to order the item along with an identifier of a purchaser of the item to a server system;
  • under control of a single-action ordering component of the server system,
    • receiving the request;
    • retrieving additional information previously stored for the purchaser identified by the identifier in the received request; and
    • generating an order to purchase the requested item for the purchaser identified by the identifier in the received request using the retrieved additional information; and
    • fulfilling the generated order to complete purchase of the item
  • whereby the item is ordered without using a shopping cart ordering model.
PAIR continuity data teach that 5,960,411 has four children:
  1. 09/151,617 filed on 09-11-1998 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951.
  2. 09/318,447 filed on 05-25-1999 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951.
  3. 10/194,602 filed on 07-12-2002 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951.
  4. PCT/US98/18926 filed on 09-10-1998 which is Pending claims the benefit of 08/928,951.

References

Number Filed Title Referenced by
4,937,863 March 7, 1988 Software licensing management system 106
5,204,897 July 14, 1992 Management interface for license management system 146
5,260,999 September 15, 1992 Filters in license management system 120
5,627,940 January 17, 1995 Method and apparatus for interactive document preparation using a natural language 11
5,640,501 October 6, 1993 Development system and methods for visually creating goal oriented electronic form applications having decision trees29
5,640,577 August 22, 1995 Data processing system with automated at least partial forms completion 34
5,664,111 February 16, 1994 Computerized, multimedia, network, real time, interactive marketing and transactional system48
5,715,314 October 24, 1994Network sales system 281
5,715,399 May 30, 1995 Secure method and system for communicating a list of credit card numbers over a non-secure network43
5,727,163 March 30, 1995 Secure method for communicating credit card data when placing an order on a non-secure network66
5,745,681 January 11, 1996 Stateless shopping cart for the web113
5,758,126 March 19, 1996 Customizable bidirectional EDI translation system 23
EP0855687 / 6,490,567 January 15, 1997 System and method for distributed content electronic commerce 2
EP0855659 / 5,961,593 January 22, 1997 System and method for providing anonymous personalized browsing in a network 33
EP0845747 November 28, 1996 A delivery managing system13
EP0883076 June 4, 1997Network charge server -
WO9530961 May 6, 1994 Method and apparatus for communicating with a card distribution center for management, selection, and delivery of social expression cards12
WO9638799 May 30, 1995 Secure method and system for communicating a list of credit card numbers over a non-secure network-
WO9821679 November 13, 1996 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONDUCTING COMMERCE OVER A DISTRIBUTED NETWORK -

09/151,617

PAIR continuity data teach that 09/151,617 is a continuation in part of the abandoned 09/046,503, which is a continuation in part of 08/928,951. Its title is "Method and system for placing a purchase order via a communications network," the same title as 5,960,411. It was not assigned an application number and as such cannot be searched with patft.uspto.gov. However the description and claims can be downloaded from PAIR. 09/151,617 adds to 5,960,411 a limitation "receiving from a user an indication of a recipient to whom the ordered item is to be delivered" and claims related to gift delivery.

The examiner made a non-final rejection. He found that 09/151,617 was obvious over 5,826,242.

The Amazon attorney replied that:

  • claims are "directed to techniques in which a user orders an item (eg., a gift) that is to be sent to a recipient,"
  • claims "make it clear that additionnal information is collected from sources other than the user who orders the item,
  • claims "recite that additionnal information is collected from sources other than the user who places the order."
To summarize the attorney found that 5,826,242 does not teach the shipping limitation.

However the examiner made a final rejection on the same ground.

The Amazon attorney filed an appeal in which he wrote that the invention relates to a technology allowing a user to place a purchase order with a vendor over a network without providing complete delivery information (eg., a delivery address) for a recipient of the order.

Then, in a non-final rejection, the examiner found that 09/151,617 was obvious over 5,826,242 in view of 5,870,717.

09/046,503

09/046,503 was entitled "coordinating delivery of a gift", was never made public on the USPTO site and abandoned before any examiner rejection. It was filed on March 23, 1998. However it was filed as a priority document in the EP0927945 examination. Therefore we can find it with the European Online File Inspection. Here is the first claim:

09/318,447

No data available.

10/194,602

10/194,602 was published as 20020178089. Its title is "Coordinating delivery of a gift". The first claim of 10/194,602 reads:

A method in a computer system for coordinating the delivery a gift given by a gift giver to a recipient, the method comprising:

  • receiving an order from the gift giver, the order identifying a gift to be delivered to the recipient and having contact information describing the recipient;
  • storing the received order in an order database along with an order tracking number;
  • sending a communications to the recipient based on the contact information, the communications requesting delivery information for the gift, the communications including the order tracking number so that the recipient can include the order tracking number in a responds to the communications for identification of the stored order;
  • when the recipient does not respond to the communications, collecting additional delivery information for the gift based on the contact information;
  • when potential delivery information for the gift has been identified, verifying whether the potential delivery information is valid; and
  • when the delivery location has been verified as being valid, sending the gift in accordance with the delivery information; and notifying the gift giver that the gift has been sent to the recipient.
The notice of allowance was sent on June 22, 2005. So the patent is about to be granted.

In a first non-final rejection the examiner found that a number of claims of 10/194,602 were obvious over 5,970,474 in view of 5,860,068.

The attorney requested an interview finding that 5,970,474 teaches a electronic bridal list in which there was no reason to ask the recipient (here the registrant) to confirm the delivery address.

The examiner made a second non-final rejection, finding that a number of claims were obvious over 5,513,117 in view of 6,085,170.

Amazon attorney found that 6,085,170 does not teach a use of email for getting delivery information.

The examiner found the reasoning not persuasive (5,513,117 teaches the use of phone for getting delivery information) and made a third non-final rejection. The examiner also used a 5,737,729 patent. Then Amazon appealed.

5,826,242

5,826,242 is entitled "Method of on-line shopping utilizing persistent client state in a hypertext transfer protocol based client-server system". This application was filed by Netscape on August 27, 1997 and granted on October 20, 1998. This seems to be a "cookie" patent.

Claim 1 reads

"A method of on-line shopping by a customer using a browser running on a client computer, said method comprising the steps of:
  • sending a first request by said browser to a merchant server for a first HTML document describing a product;
  • displaying said HTML document on said client computer, said displayed HTML document describing said product;
  • selecting, by said customer, said product;
  • sending a second request by said browser to said merchant server in response to said selection made by said customer;
  • sending a state object from said merchant server to said browser, said state object identifying said product; and
  • storing said state object on said client computer by said browser."

References

Number Filed Title Referenced by
5,710,887 August 29, 1995 Computer system and method for electronic commerce 315
5,721,832 May 12, 1995 Method and apparatus for an interactive computerized catalog system 46
5,740,425 September 26, 1995 Data structure and method for publishing electronic and printed product catalogs 52
5,745,681 January 11, 1996 Stateless shopping cart for the web 113
5,754,656 August 1, 1996 Electronic shopping method, electronic shopping system and document authenticating method relating thereto 14
5,757,917 November 1, 1995 Computerized payment system for purchasing goods and services on the internet 137
5,758,327 November 1, 1995 Electronic requisition and authorization process 43
5,760,771 July 17, 1996 System and method for providing structured tours of hypertext files 37
5,761,649 June 5, 1995 Method for updating a remote computer 32

5,870,717

5,870,717 is entitled "System for ordering items over computer network using an electronic catalog". This application was filed by IBM on November 13, 1995 and granted on February 9, 1999.

Claim 1 reads

"A system for electronically ordering items within an enterprise comprising:
  • a maintenance entity. located outside said enterprise, for receiving price and availability data from a plurality of distributors and means for receiving and processing images and text of catalog data from a plurality of catalog content providers for creating and maintaining one or more electronic master catalogs in a central location for subsequent distribution to a plurality of shadow catalog servers distributed throughout said enterprise, where said shadow servers contain data representing a customized electronic catalogue from said master catalogs, over a computer network, said maintenance entity comprises:
    • means for constructing said customized catalog from said master catalogs;
    • means for receiving a supplier's price and catalog availability changes from a plurality of said distributors and propagating them to one or more selected buyers over said computer network;
    • means for receiving catalog changes from a plurality of said catalog content providers and propagating them to one or more selected buyers over said computer network;
  • one or more computer systems, maintained by said maintenance entity, and having means for creating and transmitting to a plurality of shadow catalog servers within said enterprise, images and text of a plurality of catalog items offered by said content provider and price and availability data from said suppliers; said enterprise comprises:
    • a plurality of first end-user computer systems geographically distributed throughout said enterprise comprising a user interface and able to access disk storage on said shadow catalog server, and having means for electronically ordering said catalog items from said shadow catalog servers;
    • said shadow catalog servers, which comprise a second computer system whose disk storage can be accessed over a local area network by one or more first end-user's computers; said disk storage being used to hold and maintain (1) one or more customized electronic catalogs, and (2) internal program code comprising a Catalog Browser capable of transmitting purchase orders to a master buyer and server, and having means for allowing an end user to view said customized electronic catalog in order to facilitate comparisons between catalog items from several suppliers, and in permitting orders to be generated containing items from several suppliers;
    • said master buyer server comprising a third computer system located within said enterprise containing (1) purchase order workflow software comprising an order manager and a purchase order workflow which takes purchase orders from one or more end user computers and controls their flow through said enterprise's business processes before transmitting them over a network to the supplier; and (2) a Purchase Order data base; and
    • means for said master buyer server to receive information from and transmit information to said supplier.

References

Number Filed Title Referenced by
4,992,940 March 13, 1989 System and method for automated selection of equipment for purchase through input of user desired specifications 299
5,315,504 March 14, 1990 Electronic document approval system 32
5,319,542 September 27, 1990 System for ordering items using an electronic catalogue 150
5,570,291 August 31, 1994 Custom product estimating and order processing system 53
5,576,951 March 16, 1994 Automated sales and services system 70

5,970,474

5,970,474 is entitled "Registry information system for shoppers". This application was filed by Sears on April 24, 1997 and granted on October 19, 1999.

Claim 1 reads

A product information system for selecting, monitoring and purchasing of products in a retail establishment, comprising:
  • a local area network;
  • a handheld product selection device directly in communication with said local area network via wireless communication for identifying desired items selected by a registrant;
  • a host computer providing a registry database in communication with said local area network;
  • a data processor in communication with said local area network adapted to communicate with the product selection device via said local area network to thereby collect the desired items selected by the registrant and route said desired items to said registry database on said host computer;
  • a registry retrieval device in communication with said local area network configured to retrieve updated registry data from the host computer in response to a request from a purchasing customer, said retrieval device having an output unit for displaying an updated list of items in the registry database;
  • a point-of-sale data input device in communication with said local area network for identifying desired items which have been purchased by a customer for routing to said host computer;
  • a registry input device in communication with said local area network for collecting general information from a registrant desiring to create said registry database; and
  • said host computer having a storage unit for maintaining the registry database and a data processor for processing selection and purchasing transactions, wherein desired items consecutively selected by the registrant are added to the registry database to create a registry list, and desired items purchased by the customer are associated with the registry database to create an updated list reflecting the purchase of said desired items.

References

Number Filed Title Referenced by
Re33,054 August 28, 1987 Inventory control and reporting system for drycleaning stores 10
4,780,599 June 28, 1985 Apparatus for retrieving stored information about various items in response to coding on the items 78
4,929,819 December 12, 1988 Method and apparatus for customer performed article scanning in self-service shopping 56
4,973,952 September 21, 1987 Shopping cart display system 99
5,047,614 August 8, 1989 Method and apparatus for computer-aided shopping 115
5,243,174 March 5, 1991 Method and apparatus for generating gift certificates 64
5,361,871 August 20, 1991 Product information system for shoppers 60
5,513,117 July 26, 1995 Apparatus and method for electronically dispensing personalized greeting cards and gifts 97
5,581,707 July 27, 1994 System for wireless collection of data from a plurality of remote data collection units such as portable bar code readers 9
5,625,562 January 29, 1996 Internal bar code reading apparatus 23
5,652,421 June 7, 1995 Method and apparatus for generating gift certificates 32
5,754,981 June 7, 1995 Gift registry apparatus and method 14
5,774,874 November 22, 1995 Multi-merchant gift registry 31

5,860,068

5,860,068 is entitled "Method and system for custom manufacture and delivery of a data product". This application was filed by Petabyte on December 4, 1997 and granted on January 12, 1999.

Claim 1 reads:

A method of custom manufacture of a digital data product from digital information supported in a disk farm connected to a network, wherein a set of burner machines are connected to the network, the method comprising the steps of:
  1. selecting a set of digital data files in the disk farm;
  2. identifying one of the set of burner machines to be used in manufacturing the product;
  3. transferring each of the digital data files of the set to the identified machine;
  4. isolating the identified machine from interference; and
  5. recording the digital data files of the set to a physical medium.

References

Number Filed Title Referenced by
4,569,068 April 6, 1984 X-Ray Lithography apparatus 1
5,631,888 April 3, 1996 Master disc recording apparatus and method for recording data on different types of master discs 6
5,729,741 April 10, 1995 System for storage and retrieval of diverse types of information obtained from different media sources which includes video, audio, and text transcriptions 48

5,513,117

5,513,117 was filed by Maynard E. Small on July 26, 1995 and granted on April 30, 1996.

Claim 1 reads:

A method of creating and forwarding a combination personalized greeting card and electronically generated gift comprising the steps of:
  1. remotely interconnecting a central terminal and a remotely located interactive terminal;
  2. displaying a menu of alphanumeric and/or graphic information on a monitor at the interactive terminal from which a customer at the interactive terminal can select data to be used to personalize said card;
  3. prompting the customer to select said card data and/or add personal information via a data input means at the interactive terminal to create personalized greeting card data for said card;
  4. displaying on said interactive terminal monitor a menu of gift categories accessible via prepaid long distance telephone access accounts and a plurality of gift values from which a customer can select a particular gift category at a selected value via said data input means;
  5. prompting the customer to select said gift category and said value via said data input means;
  6. creating, at said central terminal, a greeting card with said personalized greeting card data;
  7. associating with said greeting card information concerning said selected telephone access account including a predetermined telephone number for accessing said prepaid long distance account and account authorizing data; and
  8. forwarding the card and the associated gift information to the customer or a recipient.

References

Number Filed Title Referenced by
4,414,896 March 1, 1982 Sheet-fed rotary prime and verso offset printing machine & method 22
4,616,327 January 13, 1984 Personalized graphics and text materials, apparatus and method for producing the same 53
4,625,275 April 3, 1984 Apparatus for dispensing money orders 41
4,677,565 February 11, 1986 Automatic vending system 41
4,699,532 October 31, 1986 Method and apparatus for dispensing money orders 30
4,733,362 September 20, 1985 Drug dispensing apparatus with a printer having programmable format 58
4,789,147 February 5, 1988 System and method for selective assembly and imaging of books 59
4,809,837 February 26, 1987 Control device for a vending machine and gift certificate for use thereon 46
4,817,043 June 28, 1988 Information kiosk 38
4,839,829 November 5, 1986 Automated printing control system 81
4,873,643 October 22, 1987 Interactive design terminal for custom imprinted articles 62
4,896,791 November 10, 1988 Coupon dispensing system 78
4,949,257 November 7, 1989 Automated merchandising system for computer software 80
4,970,655 November 1, 1988 Automatic fee collecting and receipt dispensing system 82
5,017,953 June 14, 1989 Automatic photographic apparatus and automatic frame dispensing machine 18
5,029,099 December 13, 1988 Method and apparatus for vending customized documents 22
5,036,293 October 19, 1990 Oscillator for use with video signal time scaling apparatus 8
5,036,472 December 8, 1988 Computer controlled machine for vending personalized products or the like 82
5,056,029 September 18, 1989 Method and apparatus for manufacturing and vending social expression cards 49
5,127,104 December 29, 1986 Method and product involving translation and execution of programs by automatic partitioning and data structure allocation 25
5,132,915 October 30, 1989 Document dispensing apparatus and method of using same 46
5,133,560 August 31, 1990 Spelling game method 8
5,143,279 September 28, 1990 Gift card and envelope 8
5,243,174 March 5, 1991 Method and apparatus for generating gift certificates 64
5,340,966 October 17, 1991 Automatic facsimile-receiving-sheet recognizing apparatus 53
5,408,417 July 5, 1994 Automated ticket sales and dispensing system 87
5,425,078 July 19, 1993 Voice message keepsake system 13
5,426,594 April 2, 1993 Electronic greeting card store and communication system 88
5,442,567 April 30, 1993 Apparatus and method for electronically dispensing personalized greeting cards and gifts 32

6,085,170

6,085,170 was filed by Hitachi on November 21, 1997 and granted on July 4, 2000.

Claim 1 reads:

A delivery managing system for managing delivery of a delivery goods from a distribution center through an agent to a receiver;
a client for providing at least a schedule information of the receiver;
a distribution server for providing at least a delivery schedule information and for managing delivery of the delivery goods;
an agent server for managing commission on the delivery goods by the agent;
a data transmission network, through which said client, said agent server and said distribution server are connected to one another;
means for determining date and time for delivery of the delivery goods and for deciding the agent to be used, between said client and said distribution server; and
means for notifying of arrival and departure of the delivery goods to and from the agent to at least one of said distribution server and said client.

References

Number Filed Title Referenced by
4,894,717 March 27, 1989 Delivered article storage control system 28
5,072,401 October 3, 1989 Optimizing mail delivery systems by logistics planning 48
5,223,829 July 9, 1991 Electric locker apparatus with automatic locker box designation device 27
5,465,291 January 6, 1995 Apparatus for ordering from remote locations 71
5,469,362 May 16, 1994 Dispatching method and apparatus for monitoring scheduled mail 9
5,485,369 September 28, 1993 Logistics system for automating tansportation of goods 56
5,576,951 March 16, 1994 Automated sales and services system 70
5,666,493 August 24, 1993 System for managing customer orders and method of implementation 98
5,758,329 June 7, 1995 System for managing customer orders and method of implementation 48
5,794,222 September 13, 1996 Mail processing system and devices therefor 3
EP0370146 / 4,799,156 October 1, 1986 Interactive market management system 378
EP0683483 / 5,752,227 May 1, 1995 Method and arrangement for speech to text conversion 12

5,737,729

5,737,729 was filed by Donald E. Denman on June 4, 1996 and granted on April 7, 1998.

Claim 1 reads

A system for providing interaction with a customer for selection of a plurality of mail pieces and subsequent sending of a selected mail piece from said plurality of mail pieces to a selected address, said system comprising:
  1. a kiosk having a communication means including a selection means for prompting said customer to select one of said plurality of mail pieces and an input means for receiving customer entered data to be included on said selected mail piece said input means includes an automatic address search means for searching a database of addresses to match parameters entered by said customer;
  2. a control means supported in kiosk for controlling said communication means and for storing customer entered data; and
  3. a finishing means for finishing said selected mail piece with said customer entered data.

References

Number Filed Title Referenced by
3,864,708 December 4, 1973 Automatic photographic apparatus and vending machine -
4,410,961 February 17, 1981 Interface between a processor system and peripheral devices used in a mailing system 35
4,712,909 August 21, 1986 CRT composite image printing method and apparatus 28
4,800,505 March 13, 1987 Mail preparation system 109
4,970,655 November 1, 1988 Automatic fee collecting and receipt dispensing system 82
5,056,029 September 18, 1989 Method and apparatus for manufacturing and vending social expression cards 49
5,072,253 September 5, 1989 Ordering and recording information system for business and greeting cards 63
5,085,470 February 4, 1991 Combined post card and check 22
5,180,906 August 3, 1990 Method of manufacturing card 14
5,313,404 June 11, 1990 Automatic postal teller machine 15
5,457,636 July 29, 1993 Postal finishing kiosk 13
5,477,462 October 30, 1992 Method and system for preparing an item for mailing including cost recapture feature 2
5,481,464 February 18, 1994 System for collecting and shipping items 22
5,513,116 July 25, 1991 Computer controlled machine for vending personalized products or the like 37
5,513,117 July 26, 1995 Apparatus and method for electronically dispensing personalized greeting cards and gifts 97
5,546,316 April 6, 1992 Computer controlled system for vending personalized products 78
5,552,994 July 12, 1993 System for printing social expression cards in response to electronically transmitted orders 27
5,555,496 May 6, 1994 Method and apparatus for communicating with a card distribution center for management, selection, and delivery of social expression cards 37
5,615,123 April 2, 1991 System for creating and producing custom card products 32
5,617,528 February 6, 1995 Method and apparatus for interactively creating a card which includes video and cardholder information 35

EP0927945

Two priority documents were filed:
  1. 08/928,951 (1-click)
  2. 09/046,503 (abandoned)
Though EP0927945 is entitled "Method and system for placing a purchase order via a communications network" claims clearly relate to 09/046,503. Claim 1 reads:

A method in a computer system for co-ordinating delivery of a gift from a gift giver to a recipient, the gift and recipient being specified in a gift order, the method comprising:

  • determining whether the gift order includes sufficient information so that the gift can be delivered to the recipient;
  • when sufficient information is not provided in the gift order, obtaining delivery information from one or more information sources; and
  • when sufficient delivery information can be obtained from the additional information sources so that the gift can be delivered to the recipient, directing the gift to be sent to the recipient as indicated by the deliver information.

The search report lists:
  1. EP0902381 from Amazon
  2. EP0845747 from Hitachi
  3. WO9530961 from Tackbary
  4. 5,451,998 from Hamrick
The examiner did not use prior art. He found that the invention was using conventional means and therefore was not inventive. After a second phone he however granted the patent. Then the patent entered an opposition phase in which the Gesellschaft fur Informatik e.V., the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) and Fleurop-Interflora opposed to the patent. Here are what opponents say about themselves:
  • "Fleurop-Interflora is the world market leader and best known flower ordering service in Europe, supported by over 58,000 carefully selected affiliated flower shops in over 150 countries."
  • "The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) is a non-profit association registered in several European countries, which is dedicated to the spread of data processing literacy. FFII supports the development of public information goods based on copyright, free competition, open standards. More than 650 members, 3,000 companies and 90,000 supporters have entrusted the FFII to act as their voice in public policy questions concerning exclusion rights (intellectual property) in data processing."
  • "Founded 1969 in Bonn, the Gesellschaft fur Informatik e.V. (GI) has currently about 25.000 members, coming from all areas of business and science. United in this non-profit organization to promote informatics where ever it is used. This is the arena to exchange ideas between people with completely different experiences being either manager or user, professor or student, entrepreneur or apprentice. But GI is far more then just a classic scientific society. Not only supporting the interests of its members, scientific work is done in a decentralized way in all kinds of regional based groups and councils covering various topics on different levels of expertise. And even more important, GI following its charter and ethic principles, invests time and effort to play an important role spreading information about informatics, by this means being an active player in the present and future of society."
Opponents found:
  1. an article of the Bell System Technical Journal entitled "Language Development tool" that describes lex and yacc;
  2. 5,737,729 that was found too recent according to Amazon
  3. a Japanese patent 04-153795;
  4. 5,555,496

EP0902381

EP0902381 is entitled "Method and system for placing a purchase order via a communications network".

Claim 1 reads:

A method for placing an order to purchase an item, the order being placed by a purchaser at a client system and received by a server system, the method comprising:
  • under control of the server system,
    • receiving purchaser information including identification of the purchaser, payment information, and shipment information from the client system;
    • assigning a client identifier to the client system;
    • associating the assigned client identifier with the received purchaser information;
    • sending to the client system the assigned client identifier; and
    • sending to the client system display information identifying the item and including an order button;
  • under control of the client system,
    • receiving and storing the assigned client identifier;
    • receiving and displaying the display information; and
    • in response to the selection of the order button, sending to the server system a request to purchase the identified item, the request including the assigned identifier; and
  • under control of the server system,
    • receiving the request; and
    • combining the purchaser information associated with the client identifier included with the request to generate an order to purchase the item in accordance with the billing and shipment information
  • whereby the purchaser effects the ordering of the product by selection of the order button.
This is the same scope as 1 click though two priority documents were filed:
  1. 08/928,951 (1-click)
  2. 09/046,503 (abandoned)
The search report lists:
  1. WO9638799 from Amazon
  2. WO9821679 from Microsoft
  3. EP0883076
  4. EP0845747 from Hitachi
  5. WO9530961 from Tackbary
The examiner used the following pieces of prior art:
  1. EP0883076
  2. WO9821679 from Microsoft
  3. an article of Dr Dobbs' entitled "Implementing a Web Shopping Cart" by Chris Baron and Bob Weil included in the September 1996 issue. This paper explains that a shopping cart implies:
    1. a database of text and graphics describing the items in the catalog;
    2. an efficient mechanism to display the items on demand;
    3. a process to collect shipping and payment information;
    4. a method of tracking items the user wishes to purchase;
    5. a way to identify the user, and a way to group a series of HTTP requests into a single "session."
  4. WO9530961 from Tackbary
The examiner notably found that EP0883076 discloses the steps of

The examiner did not accept the application.

Amazon addressed the EP0883076 objection in the following way:

The examiner sent a second examination in which he found that the Dr Dobbs article taught:

The examiner did not reuse EP0883076 though he did not write that Amazon reason was persuasive. It seems that he chose to use a third party observation.

Amazon replied that the Dr Dobbs article did not teach omitting the checkout form.

EP0845747

EP0845747 is entitled "A delivery managing system". EP0845747 was filed on November 28, 1997. It was patented in USA as 6,085,170.

Claim 1 reads:

A system for managing the delivery of goods from a distribution centre through an agent to a receiver, comprising:
  • a client for providing at least a schedule information of the receiver;
  • a distribution server for providing at least a delivery schedule information and for managing the delivery of the goods;
  • an agent server for managing the commission on the goods by the agent;
  • a data transmission network interconnecting said client, said agent server and said distribution server;
  • means for determining the date and time for delivery of the goods, or for deciding the agent to be used, between said client and said distribution server, or among said client, said distribution server and said agent server; and
  • means for noticing of store-in and/or store-out of the goods into and/or from the agent to at least one of said distribution server and said client.

References in Europe

Number Filed Title Referenced by
4,894,717 March 27, 1989 Delivered article storage control system 28
5,223,829 July 9, 1991 Electric locker apparatus with automatic locker box designation device 27
5,485,369 September 28, 1993 Logistics system for automating tansportation of goods 56
EP0370146 / 4,799,156 October 1, 1986 Interactive market management system 378
EP0683466 / 5,638,519 May 20, 1994 Electronic method and system for controlling and tracking information related to business transactions 27

References in USA (6,085,170)

Number Filed Title Referenced by
4,894,717 March 27, 1989 Delivered article storage control system 28
5,072,401 October 3, 1989 Optimizing mail delivery systems by logistics planning 48
5,223,829 July 9, 1991 Electric locker apparatus with automatic locker box designation device 27
5,465,291 January 6, 1995 Apparatus for ordering from remote locations 71
5,469,362 May 16, 1994 Dispatching method and apparatus for monitoring scheduled mail 9
5,485,369 September 28, 1993 Logistics system for automating tansportation of goods 56
5,576,951 March 16, 1994 Automated sales and services system 70
5,666,493 August 24, 1993 System for managing customer orders and method of implementation 98
5,758,329 June 7, 1995 System for managing customer orders and method of implementation 48
5,794.222 September 13, 1996 Mail processing system and devices therefor 3
EP0370146 / 4,799,156 October 1, 1986 Interactive market management system 378
EP0683483 / 5,752,227 May 1, 1995 Method and arrangement for speech to text conversion 12

WO9530961

WO9530961 is entitled "Method and apparatus for communicating with a card distribution center for management, selection, and delivery of social expression cards". This application was originally filed in USA as 5,960,412 on September 6, 1996 and granted in USA on September 28, 1999. Said 5,960,412 was a continuation of 5,555,496.

Claim 1 reads:

A method for on-going management, selection, and delivery of social expression cards, the method comprising the steps of:
  1. storing data in one or more databases, the data including recipient data and social expression card data;
  2. linking the recipient data with the social expression card data thereby forming linked data to facilitate the on-going management, selection, and delivery of the social expression cards;
  3. providing a user interface to permit a user to access the data to permit the user to manage, select, and facilitate the delivery of the social expression cards;
  4. receiving and accepting a social expression card order from the user, the social expression card order indicating a user-selected method of delivering the social expression card; and
  5. delivering the social expression card to a recipient according to the user-selected method of delivery.

References

Number Filed Title Referenced by
5,036,472 December 8, 1988 Computer controlled machine for vending personalized products or the like 82
5,029,099 December 13, 1988 Method and apparatus for vending customized documents 22
4,845,634 July 29, 1987 Product information network system 63
5,235,519 February 27, 1991 Card vending machine 20
4,712,174 April 24, 1984 Method and apparatus for generating text 26
4,616,327 January 13, 1984 Personalized graphics and text materials, apparatus and method for producing the same 53
4,965,727 September 13, 1984 Computer card 3
4,951,203 May 31, 1988 Computer card 17
5,056,029 September 18, 1989 Method and apparatus for manufacturing and vending social expression cards 49
5,426,594 April 2, 1993 Electronic greeting card store and communication system 88
4,528,643 January 10, 1983 System for reproducing information in material objects at a point of sale location 245
4,992,940 March 13, 1989 System and method for automated selection of equipment for purchase through input of user desired specifications 299

References in USA (5,960,412)

Number Filed Title Referenced by
4,528,643 January 10, 1983 System for reproducing information in material objects at a point of sale location 245
4,616,327 January 13, 1984 Personalized graphics and text materials, apparatus and method for producing the same 53
4,712,174 April 24, 1984 Method and apparatus for generating text 26
4,845,634 July 29, 1987 Product information network system 63
4,951,203 May 31, 1988 Computer card 17
4,965,727 September 13, 1984 Computer card 3
4,992,940 March 13, 1989 System and method for automated selection of equipment for purchase through input of user desired specifications 299
5,029,099 December 13, 1988 Method and apparatus for vending customized documents 22
5,036,472 December 8, 1988 Computer controlled machine for vending personalized products or the like 82
5,056,029 September 18, 1989 Method and apparatus for manufacturing and vending social expression cards 49
5,235,519 February 27, 1991 Card vending machine 20
5,426,594 April 2, 1993 Electronic greeting card store and communication system 88
5,552,994 July 12, 1993 System for printing social expression cards in response to electronically transmitted orders 27
5,555,496 May 6, 1994 Method and apparatus for communicating with a card distribution center for management, selection, and delivery of social expression cards 37
5,600,563 September 23, 1992 System for printing social expression cards 17

5,451,998

5,451,998 is entitled "Home shopping video catalog". 5,451,998 was filed by Daniel C. Hamrick on April 4, 1994 and granted on September 19, 1995.

Claim 1 reads:

A home shopping system which comprises:
  • a video catalog containing a plurality of product images representing products available for purchase and containing product identification corresponding to each product image, the product images being for electronic display for viewing by a customer;
  • an order form containing product identification which corresponds to the said product image in said video catalog, said order form comprising product names, and said order form being organized and indexed for quick reference by the customer by arranging the product names in alphabetical order with the corresponding product identification being listed beside each product name;
  • means for indicating on said order form the product identification of the products desired for purchase from the products available for purchase; and
  • means for transmitting said order form indicating the product identification of products desired for purchase to a merchandiser of said products.

References

Number Filed Title Referenced by
4,734,764 May 6, 1985 Cable television system selectively distributing pre-recorded video and audio messages 119
4,876,592 May 10, 1988 System for merchandising and the evaluation of responses to broadcast transmissions 125
4,984,155 August 29, 1988 Order entry system having catalog assistance 137
5,128,752 October 25, 1990 System and method for generating and redeeming tokens 152
5,191,410 February 5, 1991 Interactive multimedia presentation and communications system 146
5,231,566 March 29, 1991 Method and apparatus for producing a catalog 26
5,249,044 May 5, 1992 Product information storage, display, and coupon dispensing system 141
5,285,278 May 21, 1992 Electronic redeemable coupon system via television 85
5,287,181 August 20, 1992 Electronic redeemable coupon system and television 115

WO9638799

WO9638799 is entitled "SECURE METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR COMMUNICATING A LIST OF CREDIT CARD NUMBERS OVER A NON-SECURE NETWORK".

Claim 1 reads:

A method enabling a merchant to indicate to a customer by a communication over a non-secure network, a credit card number of the customer that is maintained in a database by the merchant, said method comprising the steps of:
  1. retrieving the credit card number of the customer from the database;
  2. extracting a portion of the credit card number, said portion being substantially smaller than the complete credit card number;
  3. constructing a message containing the portion of the credit card number; and
  4. transmitting the message to the customer over the non-secure network.

WO9821679

WO9821679 is entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONDUCTING COMMERCE OVER A DISTRIBUTED NETWORK".

Claim 1 reads:

A client architecture for conducting electronic commerce over the Internet, comprising, on a computer readable medium:
  • a Web browser application configured to run on a computer;
  • a commerce client application configured to run on the computer in conjunction with the Web browser application, the commerce client application including a callable function, said callable function comprising executable computer instructions stored on a computer storage medium accessible by the computer;
  • an electronic shopping basket object configured to access and manipulate product information and merchant information stored on the computer storage medium, the access and manipulation initiated by executing the callable function of the commerce client application; and
  • a Web document which includes embedded function-calling information that corresponds to the callable function of the commerce client application, the function-calling information embedded within the Web document such that a user can selectively initiate the execution of the callable function while viewing the Web document with the Web browser.

References

Number Filed Title Referenced by
5,469,206 June 1, 1993 System and method for automatically correlating user preferences with electronic shopping information 51
4,992,940 March 13, 1989 System and method for automated selection of equipment for purchase through input of user desired specifications 299
4,799,156 October 1, 1986 Interactive market management system 378
5,664,115 June 7, 1995 Interactive computer system to match buyers and sellers of real estate, businesses and other property using the internet 162
5,640,193 August 15, 1994 Multimedia service access by reading marks on an object 246
5,671,279 November 13, 1995 Electronic commerce using a secure courier system 162
5,590,197 April 4, 1995 Electronic payment system and method 208
5,677,955 April 7, 1995 Electronic funds transfer instruments 177

EP0883076

EP0883076 is entitled "Network charge server".

Claim 1 reads:

An access charge server for accessing the contents of a site on a network, comprising:
  1. means for receiving from a customer access requests for the contents available at a specific contents server site;
  2. means for identifying said customer;
  3. means for identifying an owner of said contents, the location of said contents, a price for said contents, and a destination for said contents for reckoning a sale;
  4. means for, rather than said customer, accessing said contents;
  5. means for transmitting from said access charge server to said customer said contents that have been transferred from said contents server to said access charge server; and
  6. means for subtracting said price for said contents from information for said customer at said access charge server, and for adding said price of said contents to information for said destination for reckoning for a sale.
The search report lists printed publications and a patent 5,504,933.

5,504,933

5,504,933 is entitled "Pay broadcasting system".

Claim 1 reads:

A pay broadcasting system, comprising a broadcasting station and a charging center, whereby:
  • said broadcasting station transmits an open program number together with a broadcasting program scrambled by a scramble pattern changed for each program;
  • said charging center sends a use permit code for using a pay program in response to a request for using executed through a communication line by specifying said open program number and also collects a fee for said pay program; and
  • a receiving device descrambles a received pay program according to said use permit code upon receipt of said use permit code.

5,555,496

5,555,496 is entitled "Method and apparatus for communicating with a card distribution center for management, selection, and delivery of social expression cards". It was filed on May 6, 1994 and granted on September 10, 1996.

Claim 1 reads

An electronic system for management, selection, and delivery of social expression cards directed by a plurality of independent customers wherein each customer communicates from a remote site to a distribution center, the system comprising:
  1. a customer access terminal at each remote site having
    1. an input device for customer input and selection of card recipient data, recipient occasion data, card design data, and card selection data,
    2. memory device for storage of data in the form of data records, including the card recipient data, recipient occasion data, card design data, and card selection data,
    3. display means for displaying textual and graphical information representative of the card recipient data, recipient occasion data, card design data, and card selection data,
    4. a processor coupled to the display means, memory device, and input device for processing and controlling display of the card recipient data, recipient occasion data, card design data, and card selection data to facilitate card selection and ordering for generating a card order responsive thereto, and for generating and storing in the memory, records of order history and order status, said card recipient data, order history data, order status data, and recipient occasion data operatively linked to facilitate on-going management of card selection and card delivery by the customer with respect to each recipient of the customer; and
  2. a communications link coupling the customer access terminal to the distribution center to permit communication of the card order to the distribution center for processing of the card order.

References

Number Filed Title Referenced by
4,528,643 January 10, 1983 System for reproducing information in material objects at a point of sale location 245
4,616,327 January 13, 1984 Personalized graphics and text materials, apparatus and method for producing the same 53
4,712,174 April 24, 1984 Method and apparatus for generating text 26
4,845,634 July 29, 1987 Product information network system 63
4,951,203 May 31, 1988 Computer card 17
4,965,727 September 13, 1984 Computer card 3
4,992,940 March 13, 1989 System and method for automated selection of equipment for purchase through input of user desired specifications 299
5,029,099 December 13, 1988 Method and apparatus for vending customized documents 22
5,036,472 December 8, 1988 Computer controlled machine for vending personalized products or the like 82
5,056,029 September 18, 1989 Method and apparatus for manufacturing and vending social expression cards 49
5,072,253 September 5, 1989 Ordering and recording information system for business and greeting cards 63
5,235,519 February 27, 1991 Card vending machine 20
5,425,078 July 19, 1993 Voice message keepsake system 13
5,426,594 April 2, 1993 Electronic greeting card store and communication system 88

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