[citation][nom]WyomingKnott[/nom]According to the rules, no.In practice, unfortunately yes. It seems that most of the software patents one hears about in the news (ie, those that are sued over) are for things that have been done for years. Like clicking on a link to buy something.The US Patent Office seems to have lost track of the idea of "Prior art." Then again, didn't someone patent the combover?[/citation]
Yeah, it's a shame we have to rely on the courts to review prior art. However, I really doubt this patent would even hold up in the eastern district of Texas. How long has guild wars been around doing microtransactions? let alone the 360 marketplace.