Amazon Gets Offensive On Patents

from the so-that's-how-it-works dept

Amazon has often been on the receiving end of criticism concerning their patent policy -- as they've come up with a series of questionable patents, most notably their "one-click" shopping patent. However, Amazon's response has usually been that they only get these patents for defensive reasons, either to block others or to use in case they're threatened over other patents. Well, it appears they're feeling threatened. Last year, Cendant sued Amazon claiming they owned a patent on offering product recommendations (which, yes, seems ridiculous). Apparently, Amazon is now striking back, suing Cendant for violating four e-commerce patents that Amazon holds. Of course, the patents on both sides seem a bit questionable, but that just goes to show how, rather than encouraging innovation, patents are often just about nuclear stockpiling and mutually assured destruction. At least the lawyers are happy.

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