USPTO Grants Patent On ’60s Era Billing Method

Back in the Old Days, I had to pay for computer time on Michigan Terminal System (MTS) at the University of Michigan. It was a simple system: the more you used, the more you paid. MTS charged for CPU time, RAM used while your program was running, disk space used to store your files, I/O used to read and write your files, pages printed, cards read (yes, real punched cards!), and time logged into an interactive terminal. In one of those It-Makes-Me-Proud-To-Be-A-Taxpayer moments, the USPTO has granted a patent to Amazon for exactly the same system: USPTO Grants Bezos Patent On ’60s-Era Chargebacks.

I thought you couldn’t patent prior art? Clearly, I’m wrong.