That's five, and there are at least a dozen more here. Does Amazon own Alexa? Is that the flimsy basis for their patent?
This is particularly grating because I've been pontificating about the possibility of intelligently filtered weblogs--an improvement on how Slashdot does it--and have read a teeny-tiny slice of the vast amount of research on the topic. posted by snarkout at 4:20 PM on May 31, 2000
This appears to be the patent in question. I know patent law is tough, but this can't be "novel", can it? posted by snarkout at 4:25 PM on May 31, 2000
FatBrain has their own patents pending.
And the latest patent was filed on March 17, 1998. Amazon purchased Alexa a year later, so I doubt their patent is related to Alexa. posted by tomalak at 4:53 PM on May 31, 2000
Further background on Amazon's Bookmatcher service...
Cdnow has done the same thing for at least a year and a half, I know. Are patents getting so specific they can get away with saying "..for books"? Can I get away with a patent on a service that matches users with a lawyer specializing in prior-art defenses?
It seems to me that the art of recommending other goods and services based on prior happiness with another good or service was master LONG before the internet was even concieved. Of course, I can't prove that. Or, maybe I just don't care to prove it. Regardless, amazon is evil. I will never buy anything from them. posted by howa2396 at 11:35 PM on May 31, 2000
I don't care to proofread either. I will never proofread! posted by howa2396 at 11:42 PM on May 31, 2000
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posted by wiremommy at 4:18 PM on May 31, 2000