A Washington Appeals Court will hear arguments today and it must then decide whether to lift a pre-trial injunction of ten months ago, blocking Barnes & Noble.com from using the on-line shopping business method in what it called its “Express Lane” feature. This case is being seen as the first significant internet patent battle to reach the Appeals Court stage.
When the US Patent and Trademark Office granted Amazon.com a patent for its 1-Click business method, critics said the method was as obvious as the common wallet in traditional shopping – and that Amazon.com did not deserve a patent for it. In Europe, it is not possible to obtain patents for business methods.