Australian Gov't Moves To Block E-commerce Patent

ColaMan writes "Surfacing in the Australian version of GoogleNews, moves are afoot to block a patent covering (it seems) general ecommerce practices on the internet. This comes after the recent strongarm tactics against New Zealand businesses by D.E. Technologies , holder of the patent overseas."

e-Commerce patents?

[agent dero]

Can someone explain this to me honestly?

How is it possible for someone to patent something on a nationality-less object like the Internet?
How can they even enforce this, with the exception of AU based companies, what will stop my Bank in Zimbabwae from using their "patented" e-Commerce thinga-mawhatsits?

Or is it just one of those marketing things, like saying "Oxi-Clean is backed by a patented process..." Just so they look good?

Anyways, go Australia!

There goes my business

[inflex]

Well, Im a relatively small e-commerce site, doing no more than perhaps $50,000 USD(equivilant) a year. Something like this would simply kill me.

I do not see how any company is going to come to terms with these high costs - more than likely they'll just adapt around the legals and leave the legal fees falling back on DET.

I only hope that the person/group/body whom approved the patenting of business-processes didn't envisage things happening like this, more than likely I'm deluded.

Re:e-Commerce patents?

[gl4ss]

Well, sounds like a real good reason to do something about it before au ecommerce really moves to zimbabwe doesn't it? Anyways, using safe havens for server keeping isn't exactly a new idea, but suggested in scifi 30+ years ago(orbit, artificial islands).

Hmmm...

[X.25]

In 1998, I've used ShopSite software to run an e-commerce site (which was accepting international orders, calculated shipping costs for DHL/etc, and done many other things). It was a software that was developed before 1998, and as much as I can see DT morons filled for their patent on December 29th, 1997.

I'm also sure Intershop might be able to give some dates in relation to their software, since I've used Intershop in 1999, and it was also developed before 1998 (probably even before 1997).

Re:There goes my business

[spybreak]

Don't wouldn't worry too much about this. This patent will get smashed by the big boys.

I work for a software development arm of 29 billion dollar financial processing business. And I can tell you that there is no way we (and other big fish in the transaction processing business) will take this lying down.

I wonder how many large businesses they have sent their writ to ? These opportunitists won't get a cent.

Re:Questionable step.

[goon]

We certainly don't get cheap oil, or if we do, the consumers never see any benefits (maybe the foreign owned oil companies get those benefits, flowing the profits back to England and the US).

Try a whopping 50% tax on petrol imposed by the au government. That is why I laugh when users grump about high pertol prices at the pump and cry unfair trading by oil companies. Rid the government tax and halve the cost of pertol.