AT&T has a patent on e-commerce. That seems to be the gist of its law suit yesterday against PayPal and eBay.
AT&T alleges that, through the use of their online payment systems, PayPal and eBay have infringed AT&T’s U.S. patent that covers transactions in which a trusted intermediary securely processes payments over a communications system such as the Internet. The use of a trusted intermediary ensures that one party will not have to disclose sensitive information, such as a credit card number or bank account number, to the other party to the transaction. AT&T’s lawsuit seeks compensation for PayPal’s and eBay’s unauthorized use of the patented technology.
The patent, if you read down the conclusions, claims that it also therefore covers an “essentially unlimited” number of electronic intermediary/transaction types through “communications,” including voting, wish lists, gift registries, professional referral services, and auctions.
Next up — Micro$oft claims to have a patent on using money, and IBM claims to have a patent on the use of all “computerized thinking machines.”
(via InstaPundit)
Hey, hey, hey! Hold it right there, mister! You happen to be infringing on my patent on sardonic wit! I’ll let it go this time, but no more sarcasm or acerbic comments, or I sic the lawyers on you! (Umm… you haven’t patented lawsuits or anything like that, have you?)