Gift order / Amazon, European Patent Office (EPO Board of Appeal), 11 November 2009

This case relates to the opposition against Amazon's famous ‘one-click’ patent. The Board ruled that what is required for obtaining patent protection for a software-implemented business method is that the software should contribute to a technical effect which goes beyond the mere implementation of the business method itself. The Board held that although computer-implemented business methods normally do not involve such contribution, the inclusion of features relating to the single-action ordering of items do not solely relate to a business concept. The reasoning of the Board thus implies that in this case a technical effect may be present and that this could lead to a patentable invention.

A full summary of this case has been published on Kluwer IP Law.