Agylen

I’m a bit worried by this:

Susan Kuchinskas, Internet News: “In one embodiment of the patent, the system sends consumers a message inviting them to write a review in a predetermined amount of time after the purchase. It’s a method widely used by online retailers, including Yahoo Shopping. The patent also covers the method of tracking who returns to rate products by asking them to click on a unique link in an e-mail.”

Apart from being worried in a general way about the ongoing spread of patents concerning business methods, I am worried in particular because when I designed The Open Source Zone, one of the explicit design goals was to build an Amazon type storefront, with user contributed reviews at its center.

Now, we don’t send messages to users inviting them to write reviews, but Susan also writes: But the patent even covers collecting reviews by letting visitors to a Web site fill out a form., which seems to cover also our usage. I really hope this is not the case.

I’d also like to know whether the patent is enforceable outside the U.S.

(Via Matt Asay.)