Affiliate Programs and Affiliate Reviews
In the midst of the civil unrest in Egypt and throughout the Middle East, U.S. Senate-proposed legislation that has become known as the “Internet kill switch bill” was recently reintroduced.
The controversial bill, first introduced by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn, in June 2010, seeks to empower the president and DHS to take certain actions regarding privately owned computer systems in a “national cyberemergency.”
On October 14, 2010, the Federal Court of Canada handed down its much-anticipated decision regarding Amazon’s patent application for an invention entitled “Method and System for Placing a Purchase Order Via a Communication Network,” or what has more colloquially been referred to as the “Amazon 1-Click Patent.”
A few months ago, the Globeandmail.com’s Barry McKenna reported that “Canada has earned a dubious distinction as a world hub for illegitimate file-sharing websites and a leader in Internet piracy.” Further, the Obama administration put Canada on its infamous blacklist of shame — a “priority watch list” of intellectual property laggards including the likes of China, Russia and Venezuela.
The USPTO has finally approved Amazon’s 1-Click Patent, which has been the subject of much criticism and debate since it was originally filed back in 1997. Many critics cite concerns with the breadth of the patent protection applied for and subsequently approved. Others express concerns over the subject matter itself.
While patent practitioners are well familiar with and accepting of the phrase that patentable subject matter may include “anything under the sun that is made by man,” the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently heard arguments that may call the rationale behind that famous quote — or rather infamous quote — into question.