http://www.openmarket.com/whatsnew/patents/
> Patents cover Internet marketing, order management and
> payment.
>
> Open Market, Inc., has received three patents from the U.S. Patent
> and Trademark Office that cover fundamental technology for
> conducting business over the Internet. These wide-ranging patents
> give Open Market broad intellectual property protection on its
> innovative technology.
>
> See the complete text of the March 3 news release.
>
> Internet Server Access Control and Monitoring Systems, (Patent
> Number 5,708,780) covers an essential facet of Web-based
> marketing: the ability to analyze how users browse through content
> on a Web site. Session Identifiers allow businesses to market
> more effectively to buyers based upon viewing patterns. Session
> identifiers can also be used to limit access to specific content,
> such as subscription, account information, or an organization's
> internal information.
>
> Network Sales System, (Patent Number 5,715,314) covers the use of
> "electronic shopping carts" which merchants provide to their
> customers as a way to accumulate items to purchase before checking
> out. This patent also describes the passing of payment and
> purchase information through a URL. This technology allows digital
> offers to be distributed on the Web, via e-mail, CD-ROMs and even
> over broadcast media.
>
> Digital Active Advertising, (Patent Number 5,724,424) covers
> secure, real-time payment using credit and debit cards over the
> Internet. It is one of the earliest and broadest Internet payment
> patents yet granted, with a filing date of December 16, 1993.
I think I'll start preparing a patent for commerce over interplanetary
communications.