Amazon Sues Barnesandnoble.com Over 1-Click Technology

Amazon.com is suing Barnesandnoble.com, claiming the rival online bookseller copied technology that allows customers to make purchases by clicking a single button on a Web site. In September 1997 Amazon deployed its 1-Click technology, which stores customers' credit-card and shipping information so they don't have to enter it each time they make a purchase. Earlier this month, the online retailer said it had been awarded a patent for the technology.

Barnesandnoble.com has introduced a similar feature on its Web site, and Amazon spokesman Bill Curry says "they meticulously copied" Amazon's technology, a move he says "deprives us of treating our customers in a unique and special way." In a statement, Barnesandnoble.com said, "We believe the allegations to be completely without merit and we will vigorously defend our position."

Amazon filed suit late Thursday in U.S. District Court in Seattle. It alleges patent infringement and requests that Barnesandnoble.com stop using its easy-purchase technology as well as pay an unspecified amount of damages. "We spent thousands of hours to develop our 1-Click process, and the reason we have a patent system in this country is to encourage people to take these kinds of risks and make these kinds of investments for customers," Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO, said in a statement.