Amazon reveals its patent lawsuits are on the rise Skip to main content

Amazon reveals its patent lawsuits are on the rise

BBC
.....
Amazon's chief executive, Jeff Bezos, holds up the Kindle Fire tablet 
Amazon's new Kindle Fire tablet is subject to a lawsuit filed by SmartPhone Technologies

Related Stories

Amazon has revealed that 11 companies have filed patent lawsuits against it since the start of the year - more than three times as many as in all of 2010.

The online store made the declaration in a filing to US financial regulators.

The complaints include claims that Amazon's sales systems infringe another firm's intellectual property, and that its Kindle ebook devices use technologies owned by two others.

Amazon says it disputes the claims and intends to "vigorously defend" itself.

The US firm's filing reveals that it has been accused of infringing a total of 30 patents since January.

Of those two have been dismissed, including a claim by MasterObjects, a Dutch developer specialising in search result software.

The software firm had claimed that Amazon's drop-down search suggestions infringed one of its US patents. However, the case was thrown out in August.

One of the active lawsuits involves a company named LVL Patent Group. It claims Amazon's mobile applications and other technologies breach four of its innovations.

The Virginia based litigator also launched claims against Apple, Siemens, Hewlett-Packard and Nokia, among others, in September.

Legal activity
 
The lawsuits mark an upswing in legal activity.

Over the whole of 2010, Amazon's filing suggests it was sued by three claimants over a total of four patents. Amazon settled one of the cases and still disputes the others.

"It is quite common in the technology industry to have aggressive patent litigation," said Andrea Matwyshyn, assistant professor of legal studies at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

"In fact, the volume against Amazon pales compared to other industries such as the mobile phone sector, which is involved in a series of patent wars."

However, Amazon's legal troubles may mount following the launch of its first tablet computer.

"These lawsuits can only continue to increase, especially as Amazon makes more hardware," said Colin Gillis, senior technology analyst at BGC Partners.

"The field is clogged with lawsuits, particularly with products that run on Google's Android software, which its new Kindle Fire tablet uses."

Amazon's best defence may be to secure patents of its own. Its most recent filing involves a gift card which allows the buyer to restrict what products the recipient can choose.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in ...

Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera

The Life Story of A Distinguished And Outstanding Bhikkhu The Most Venerable Saradawpharagree Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera The Buddhist missionary Saradaw Ashin U Chandramani was endowed with great gifts and led a famous and long life. He was a very well known, distinguished and outstanding Bhikkhu Mahathera. While living in the Kushinagar Monastery, a place close to where the Lord Buddha had passed away to Nirvana, the Government of India had offered, and he had accepted, the highest, most honourable and respected title "Guru Guru MahaGuru". He became the first ever President of all Buddhists in India.A World Buddhist Conference took place in Kathmandu during the reign of King Mahindra of Nepal. The Conference was very well attended by over one hundred thousand Buddhists from various parts of the world and it was opened by King Mahindra himself. As requested by the King, Saradawpharagree blessed all the participants with the power of Triple Gems...

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do...