After a mere 13 years, it appears that Amazon.com, Inc is finally to receive a Canadian patent on its famous ‘1-click’ ordering system. Although a formal notification of patent grant has yet to issue, various observers have noted status changes in Canadian application no. 2246933 in late December, indicating that the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has conceded defeat in its efforts to declare the Amazon claims ineligible for patenting (see, e.g., this report from Canadian intellectual property lawyer Barry Sookman).In particular, the records show that on 22 December 2011 the status of the rejected Amazon application as ‘dead’ was reversed, and on 28 December 2011 a ‘final’ fee payment was made, which is only required once the application is found allowable.
The Canadian Federal Court of Appeal has issued its decision in the dispute between Amazon.com and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) over whether Amazon’s ‘1-click’ ordering system comprises patent-eligible subject matter in Canada. And, contrary to the position argued by the Commissioner of Patents, the court has held that CIPO should be ‘open to the possibility that a novel business method may be an essential element of a valid patent claim’, i.e. that there is no blanket prohibition of the patenting of ‘business methods’ under the Canadian patent law.
