A Washington federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Barnesandnoble.com, New York, can allow its customers to purchase books with one mouse click until a full trial considers Amazon.com’s accusation that such transactions infringe its patent.
Amazon, Seattle, has contended since the fall of 1999 that Barnesandnoble’s Express Lane feature is too close to its own patented 1- Click method. In December of that year, a Seattle federal judge issued an injunction against Barnesandnoble, ruling that Amazon had a substantial likelihood of winning its suit.
On Wednesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington concurred with the lower court that the Barnesandnoble feature most likely violated Amazon’s patent. However, the court also lifted the injunction, stating that Barnesandnoble had legitimate questions concerning the validity of Amazon’s patent.
The trial is scheduled for September.
