The Honor System utilises Amazon.com’s controversial One-Click patent and its customer database. Anyone with a web site can apply for a payment page on Amazon.com to become an Honor System merchant. The merchant puts a “paybox” on his web site; a visitor clicks that paybox and is directed to the merchant’s “PayPage” at Amazon.com.
The customer pays with just one click (if he has previously used Amazon.com’s services) and then has access to the merchant’s content. The merchant is then paid by Amazon.com.
The two new patent applications are wider in scope than the Honor System.
The first application covers a system for collecting payments on content providers’ web sites and gaining access to individual digital networks. The second covers a system that allows users to “define customised pay pages for receiving payments from other users”, and involves hosted payment pages that “handle the collection process” and are maintained by payment recipients.