A federal appeal court will hear arguments in a suit that pits Amazon.com against Barnesandnoble.com, in a suit that has implications for e-commerce beyond the rivalry between the Internet book-selling giants.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington will decide whether to lift a preliminary injunction preventing Barnesandnoble.com from using technology that lest customers purchase online with "one-click" of a computer mouse. Amazon.com alleges that the technology is protected a patent on its single-click online purchasing system.
The case may also test the limits of patents on such basic Internet business methods.
The lawsuit is also the second time the two online booksellers have faced off in court. In 1997, Barnesandnoble.com went to court to stop Amazon.com from calling itself"Earth's biggest bookstore."
