I.B.M. take Amazon to court over a software patent which according to Big Blue's Sr. V.P. of Shakedowns and Extortion John E. Kelly III:

"Most if not all of Amazon's business is built on top of this technology."

I.B.M. has already roughed up smaller e-commerce companies for licensing, and claims to have been negotiating with Amazon for fees since 2002. NY Times buries the nature of the patents in the 10th paragraph, giving anyone who sells anything on the Internet nightmares.

The five patents...cover software-based techniques for storing, retrieving and displaying information on Internet commerce Web sites, for making buying recommendations, and for handling online transactions.

I.B.M. plans to enforce its patents on giggles and rainbows in the 2nd quarter of next year.

[NY Times]