PanIP has rights

In a previous article, I mentioned that patents could be used to generate revenue. PanIP holds patents that cover methods of using information transmission and retrieval systems applicable to e-commerce.

A detailed list of patents owned by this company is available at: https://www.panip.com/patents.htm

In particular, the Canadian patent known as “Automatic Information, Goods, and Services Dispensing System (Canada ‘216)” whose complete text is available at https://patents1.ic.gc.ca/details?patent_number=1236216&language=EN_CA specifically addresses “a system for automatically dispensing information, goods and services to a customer on a self-service basis including a central data processing centre in which information on services offered by various institutions in a particular industry is stored. One or more self-service information and sales terminals are remotely linked to the central data processing centre and are programmed to gather information from prospective customers on goods and services desired, to transmit to customers information on the desired goods or services from the central data processing centre, to take orders for goods or services from customers and transmit them for processing to the central data processing centre, to accept payment, and to deliver goods or services in the form of documents to the customer when orders are completed. The central data processing centre is also remotely linked to terminals of the various institutions serviced by the system, so that each institution can be kept up-dated on completed sales of services offered by that institution.” [Note that Canadian spelling is used above.]

Think about this patent. Does it not remind you unavoidably of what you did the last time you ordered a book or bought something online? Or performed any other commercial transaction on the Web?

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In the next article in this series, we’ll look at what PanIP has been doing with its patents. In the meantime, start thinking about your own organization’s uses of intellectual property to which PanIP may claim the rights.