This Amazon patent lists Jeff Bezos as an inventor and is directed towards method and apparatus for subscription-based shipping. Mr. Bezos was awarded U.S. Patent 7590565 entitled “Method and apparatus for subscription-based shipping” on September 15, 2009. The utility patent has been cited 13 times by other U.S. patents in the field of it methods for management and in other fields.

Computer-accessible medium and apparatus for providing subscription-based shipping of items. Embodiments may provide mechanisms that allow customers of an e-commerce Web site to pay a fee to obtain a subscription in a shipping program that provides subscribed customers with free and/or reduced-rate shipping for at least some items ordered via the e-commerce Web site during the period covered by the subscription. The Web site may provide user interface elements on the Web site that may provide one or more shipping and possibly other options only to subscribed customers. Some embodiments may provide mechanisms that allow a subscriber to share a subscription to the shipping program with other customers. One embodiment may provide a mechanism through which a subscribed customer can invite other customers to share a subscription. Some embodiments may provide other exclusive services and/or offers to the subscribers of the shipping program that are not provided or offered to non-subscribers. Link: U.S. Patent 7590565

Amazon filed this utility patent on June 30, 2005 giving it a processing time of 1538 days (compared to an average processing time of 2086 in the field). They have a total number of 6869 patents. The first named inventor is Jeffrey P. Bezos of Seattle, WA. The patent was allowed by primary examiner Nicholas D Rosen and examiner .

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