I don't know if this site is US based or not, but, I just noticed on slashdot ( http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/13/154255 ) that apparently there is a patent on the "Buy it Now" thing. I don't know, maybe you can just rename it "Purchase Now" or something, lol.
I have to admit that I agree with all the people against the way our patent system will allow anyone to patent even small things that are unrelated to actual business directly, but, can be used to hurt competition. In this case it's not even competition and they may not really care, but, usually if a company is desperate enough to sue over stupid little things like that, they may be in serious need of cash from any source they can find.
Probably need to change "Buy it Now" if US-based.
Nazo
Inde
No money is exchanged in our auction system so therefore it's not truly an auction system. This is trading happening for non-tangible items. And these types of lawsuits have been floating around for years. Someone tried to patent hyper-links (anything that says Click Here).
The lawsuit is really over the But it Now system and not the phrase. The arguement is over the ability to purchase an item at a set price in the system but still allow it to be auctioned off. If it was a dispute over "Buy it Now" it would be a trademark or copyright infringement and not a patent infringement.
The lawsuit is really over the But it Now system and not the phrase. The arguement is over the ability to purchase an item at a set price in the system but still allow it to be auctioned off. If it was a dispute over "Buy it Now" it would be a trademark or copyright infringement and not a patent infringement.
Nazo
Ok, just checking. I definitely don't want to see Guild Wars Guru get into any trouble. Not that I thought it was very likely anyway seeing as how it's not really a for profit thing or a competitor in any way (except perhaps for the few crazy people who actually sell Guild Wars stuff for cash -- ok, the crazy ones are the buyers...)