“Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, under fire for his company’s patent
policies, urged Thursday that the United States overhaul the patent
process to reflect the different nature of software
innovation.”
“Amazon has been harshly criticized for weeks over a few
controversial patents. The company is currently engaged in a
lawsuit against Barnesandnoble.com over its one-click patent, which
allows consumers to store data at Amazon’s site and purchase items
by clicking a button. The company was recently awarded a separate
patent covering its affiliate-marketing program, which is similar
to systems used by hundreds of Internet companies….”
“Many in the Internet community have called on Amazon to drop
its patents, saying they violate the free and open nature of the
Internet, a move Bezos rejected in the letter. “Despite the
call from many thoughtful folks for us to give up our patents
unilaterally, I don’t believe it would be right for us to do
so,” he wrote. But he acknowledged that the current situation
is not optimal.”