Single-click shopping has been a luxury that Amazon has had, and has sued over in the past. Regardless of how ridiculous it was, it was upheld in the courts and let Amazon prevent Barnes & Noble from using it. Now, however, that decision is being re-examined by the U.S. patent office.
Now, actor Peter Calveley, who has experience in patent law and has appeared in small parts in films such as "The Lord of the Rings," has challenged the patent. In February he wrote in his blog that the patent as granted to Amazon seemed "to cover a lot of ground" and would work better if it were "narrowed a bit."
To me, though, that statement sounds just as ambiguous as the original patent does, so how much it could improve isn't clear. In either case, depending on the outcome, we may see a change in many online shopping sites to "speed up" checkout.