A patent is an intellectual property right provided to an inventor for a short time in exchange for public disclosure of the innovation when the patent is issued - "to prevent others from creating, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing the invention." Utility, design, and plant patents are the three sorts of patents to examine.
Patents are crucial in a variety of industries because to the high level of competition and innovation. ECommerce patents cover the process of buying or selling something at a physical store or over the internet. They can be used to defend a variety of online business practises. Some patents cover specific processes or technologies that make electronic purchases faster, easier, and more enjoyable for consumers. Sales and Purchasing Techniques, Online Auctions, Consumer Reward Systems, Financial Transactions, Advertising, Infrastructure and Directories, and Search Engines are only a few of the categories covered by eCommerce patents.
Because of the amount of licencing, contracting out, outsourcing, and strategic alliances involved in eCommerce, patents are critical. Patents aid eCommerce businesses in a variety of ways, including recording new ideas, blocking competing patents on comparable developments, increasing firm valuation and reputation, and becoming a source of royalties in licencing contracts. Amazon, for example, holds one of the most well-known development and business software patents in the world, "One Click," which allows users to purchase things with only one click. Amazon filed a preliminary injunction against Barnes & Nobles Inc. in October 1999, alleging infringement of Amazon's "One Click" patent. However, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the District Court's judgement in February 2001, holding that Amazon.com was not entitled to a preliminary injunction, demonstrating the necessity of patenting a technology or innovation in the eCommerce industry.
An eCommerce company that accepts business method payments might easily outsource some of its products to improve profits. Sightsound.com, for example, was granted a patent in 1993 for obtaining digital music via the internet. Sightsound later sued CDNow for patent infringement and requested royalties from other internet sites that download digital film or music, such as MP3.com.
The fundamental reason for the increase of eCommerce patents is that business method patents can provide monopoly rights over vital business techniques while simultaneously providing significant value through long-term competitive advantage.
Priceline.com's "Reverse Auction" patent, commonly known as the "name your own price" bidding system, is an example of this. It enables online customers to set a price for products or services that they are willing to pay. Priceline.com sued Expedia.com, a travel website, in October 1999 for infringing on Priceline.com's "Reverse Auction" patent.
ECommerce patents such as online and offline integration; curation, customisation, and personalisation; virtual currencies; and commerce via TV and other gadgets will boost the relevance of patents in the eCommerce industry more than ever in the future.
Examining eCommerce patents allows us to gain a better understanding of the complex industrial needs that lead to unique inventions. Because patent systems are created as an incentive to innovate, they also notify us about the value of the concept and financial rewards of innovations. They also push us to improve design processes, which are at the heart of the industry's technology, as well as identify alternative solutions.
At Blueocean Market Intelligence, where our scope of work includes inquisitively producing market intelligence for diversified industries such as eCommerce, by integrating various resources and collating information from various sources, we have been studying eCommerce patents to understand their intricacies, with respect to the above-mentioned points, as well as how they are changing the dynamics of the industry taking into account, evolving through innovations and
The Blueocean patent study sheds light on the scope and method adopted by several of the world's leading eCommerce companies in patenting their processes and technologies. We clustered the study around different services included within, pointing appropriately at the importance of patents at an intricate level, based on our evolving understanding of the industry and patents.
We'll take a closer look at patents and the eCommerce industry in our next blog, which will include a complete market study.
No comments:
Post a Comment