• Internet News, Monday, November 14, 2005 3:16 PM

Amazon.com has recently been awarded three interesting patents, one of which could put the brakes on personalization features introduced by companies like Yahoo! and Google. Internet News reports that the online retailing giant last Thursday was awarded patents covering purchase circles, search, and consumer reviews. The first patent covers methods of forming purchasing circles and marketing to them, for example by displaying which member of a certain circle has bought a product that another member is looking at online. The second patent covers targeted search methods of delivering results for related products from multiple categories. A search for Madonna, for example, would return music CDs, DVDs of movies she's appeared in, and books she's written. Internet News says the third may cause problems for publishers that offer combined search and social networking features. This patent covers consumer reviews initiated via a simple form on a Web site, a service many publishers employ. It also covers the system of tracking users who return consumer reviews about a product or service via a special link contained in an e-mail, a service used by Yahoo! Shopping, for example. Amazon.com did not say whether the company would seek a license for its new intellectual property.

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