'One-click' too obvious to patent

The European Patent Office (EPO) has refused to grant a patent for Amazon's 'One-click' payment system. The system allows users to make purchases with the click of a single button on the webpage and has already been granted a patent in the US. However, the EPO ruled that the system was reliaon 'prior art', i.e. existing inventions.

 

To qualify for a patent, inventions must be new, not too obvious and useful to the industry. The Amazon system allows registered users who have previously entered their payment details to make with the click of a single button. The EPO said:

"The Board does not consider that the idea of reducing the number of steps necessary to make an order would contribute to inventive step."