UKNM: US Patents Office and e-commerece

[Paul Durrant]

Recently the US Patents Office granted patents for e-commerce software

which should be of concern to us.  Open Market has been granted US

patents for:


Secure real time online credit card payments

Online shopping carts (basically lists of selected goods for purchase)

Online session identifiers

Even if a company wanted to patent similar things in Europe they

couldn't do so because


1. Patents aren't granted for software (copyright does apply but not for

the method or concept, only for its particular expression)

2. These are really business methods (and they are not patentable

either)

Even in the US it is the software applying these methods which is

patented.


While US patents don't have jurisdiction in Europe, what are the

implications for Europeans (or other countries) trying to do e-business

with the US?


Does this mean if a Web design company in Europe creates a site for a

client using the metaphor of a shopping cart into which you place selected goods and

then pay by credit card online, that if used by US customers, that site

is infringing the patent within the US?


Has any one any views on what this means for us?  Do we end up paying

licence fees to US companies for anything we create on Web sites that

does some useful transaction?

Is this US backdoor protectionism against foreign (to them) e-commerce?


Views anybody?


I vaguely remember about 5 years ago, patents being granted for 

interaction between multimedia components on CD-ROM, or something

similar, I can't recall the exact detail.  It caused such a furore that

it had to be withdrawn.  Maybe a similar row needs to be created on

this.


Paul Durrant

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Tarnlough Limited, Interactive Business Communications Consultants,

19 Aylesbury, Clonmacken, Ennis Road, Co. Limerick, Ireland.

Tel./Fax.: +353 (0)61 455187	            	e-mail:

pdurrantindigo [dot] ie

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