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Amazon has patented the milkman, etc.
11–20 of 61 posts
Re: Amazon has patented the milkman, etc.
#12@FOSSpatents tweeted about this: "The grant of this patent to Amazon renders me speechless. http://t.co/bMh7qwkh "Recurring Delivery of Products". prior art = milkman" Usually he's rather supportive of most of the tech patents HN likes to deem "obvious", so if even he finds this astonishing, perhaps there really is something wrong here :)
Florian Müller finally admitted a few months ago that he is a paid shill.
Re: Amazon has patented the milkman, etc.
#13And yet, Amazon only sells condensed milk and powdered milk, not fresh milk. [1] I really do like their 'Subscribe & Save' service though [2] (which is what the patent describes). [1] http://amzn.to/14KeLIH [2] http://www.amazon.com/gp/subscribe-and-save/details/
Re: Amazon has patented the milkman, etc.
#14fuck patents.
Re: Amazon has patented the milkman, etc.
#15A lot of companies file patents to cover their asses against patent trolls, not to enforce them. I would imagine that this is something similar.
I disagree. Amazon has a history of enforcing terrible patents they own - ie the one-click patent.
Can you provide another example? A single large suit over 10 years ago doesn't really indicate a 'history of enforcing patents'...
Re: Amazon has patented the milkman, etc.
#16And yet, Amazon only sells condensed milk and powdered milk, not fresh milk. [1] I really do like their 'Subscribe & Save' service though [2] (which is what the patent describes). [1] http://amzn.to/14KeLIH [2] http://www.amazon.com/gp/subscribe-and-save/details/
Ummm... What?: http://fresh.amazon.com/product?asin=B000PRDZSM&qid=1425...
"We currently offer home delivery to a limited number of Seattle neighborhoods"
Nice for some folks living in Seattle, otherwise not very relevant.
Re: Amazon has patented the milkman, etc.
#17"What is claimed is: 1. A computer-implemented method(...)" Mmm, I'm to young to have seen an actual milkman, but television never depicted them as "computer-implemented"
You'll be pleased to know you haven't missed your chance yet!
I used to see Michal the Milkman trucks driving around near down town Palo Alto a few blocks away from where Steve Jobs used to live!
Re: Amazon has patented the milkman, etc.
#18Thus a public system intended to engender fairness and creative behavior profitable to all society is made its own negation.
Re: Amazon has patented the milkman, etc.
#19If there was ever an argument against broad software patents it's this. Also if there ever was an argument that the patent system is a money making sham, it's this.
Prepending existing ideas with, "A computer-implemented method" does not make them patent-worthy and everyone in the entire world knows it.
Re: Amazon has patented the milkman, etc.
#20A lot of companies file patents to cover their asses against patent trolls, not to enforce them. I would imagine that this is something similar.
I disagree. Amazon has a history of enforcing terrible patents they own - ie the one-click patent.
A "history"? Does your history consist of a single patent lawsuit 13 years ago? Also subsequent to the lawsuit Jeff Bezos went on public record as identifying that as a mistake. http://oreilly.com/news/amazon_patents.html. After which he spoke to congress about how to change the US patent law to fix it.
As an author on 25+ Amazon patents (not the one referenced by the post) I will tell you three things:
1/ The US patent system is broken. Everyone knows this. 2/ Every company has to protect itself by filing patents. This is just a reality of the system that we have. 3/ A company that turns its focus away from its customers and instead focuses on other companies is either a parasite (hello patent trolls!) or has lost its way.
My 0.02.