Noted technology book author Danny Goodman, whose titles also sell at Amazon, has also joined in support. Community sites for engineers and software enthusiasts, such as Scripting News and Slashdot , have been rife with discussion threads condemning the patent . Amazon received the patent, the second of two controversial Web patents it has been granted, last week. It granted Amazon ownership of the one-click technique, where one Web site links to a purchase transaction on another site. When a customer selects a referral link, the customer's computer transmits unique IDs of the selected product and of the associate to the merchant's site.
Many Web sites employ the technology.
The concern is that Amazon may try to use the patent as a technological stranglehold on its e-commerce competitors. Though it hasn't commented on plans for the patent, the company could sue competitors for infringement, or force sites to agree to financial terms in licensing deals in order to continue the practice. Send it . Use this version. E-mail this to a friend.