Business-Method Patents: Of Questionable Validity? - Amazon.com, Inc. v. Barnesandnoble.com, Inc., 239 F.3d 1343 (Fed. Cir. 2001)

In 1998, in State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group, Inc., the Federal Circuit gave new life to the business-method patent. Critics viewed this decision as a judicially created exception to the statutory requirement ofpatentable subject matter. Uncertainty under the State Street ruling led to the issuance of a flood of widely criticized and questionable patents, including Amazon.com's one-click-purchase patent. In an attempt to enforce this patent, Amazon.com sued Barnesandnoble.com, and the trial court granted a preliminary injunction. Bamesandnoble.com appealed, claiming that the one-click-purchase patent was invalid because it failed to meet the statutory requirements of novelty and nonobviousness.