The European Commission has recently published a proposal for a directive on patent for computer-implemented inventions. For more on it, see an article I wrote for EurActiv.com, the policy portal on EU Affairs:

"Commission presents draft Directive on patent for computer-implemented inventions" (22 February 2002)

http://www.euractiv.com/cgi-bin/cgint.exe/?1100=1&204&OIDN=1503019

On 12:02:28 13 November 2000 jonathan wrote:
>ONE CLICK TO HEAVEN
>
>The argument regarding Amazon.com’s “one
>click” patent continues to rage in America. On
>December 1 1999 US District Judge Marsha Pechman ruled
>that Barnesandnoble.com had infringed Amazon.com’s
>patent by using a one click feature in their on-line
>ordering process, a process already patented by Jeff
>Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon.com. A preliminary
>injunction was granted by District Judge Pechman to
>prevent Barnesandnoble.com from using the one click
>process.
>
>The one click process stores billing and shipping
>information, so that repeat customers need only click
>their mouse once when ordering goods. Repeat customers do
>not need to re-enter and re-confirm their personal
>details, thus facilitating the ordering process. Already a
>number of Companies have recognised the importance of this
>process and indeed Apple have recently announced that it
>has licensed the one click patent from Amazon.com for use
>in its Online Store.
>
>Whether or not the “one click” patent is valid
>will not be decided until next year when the matter comes
>again before District Judge Pechman. However, in the
>meantime, a panel of Judges of the US Court of Appeal for
>the Federal Circuit, to whom an appeal has been made
>regarding the granting of the preliminary injunction, are
>taking the opportunity to analyse the issue of Internet
>patents as a whole. As with most matters concerning the
>development of the law of the Internet, it is a case of
>watch this space!
>
>
>Jonathan Heaney - solicitor, Fairmays
>
>
>
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