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PatentBrief

Patent Cliff · E-Commerce

E-Commerce patent cliff

Early e-commerce patents covering checkout flows, recommendation algorithms, and digital payments from the dot-com era are expiring, freeing foundational online retail methods.

Expiring 2025–2029

3

Citations at stake

99

Peak cliff year

2025

Already expired

15

Patents Expiring by Year (2025–2029)

2025

1

2026

1

2027

0

2028

0

2029

1

Patent count
Citation weight

Most-Cited E-Commerce Patents Expiring 2025–2029

01

Predicting User Interests Based on Who Looks at Whose Profile

US 8311950Google LLCexpires 2029

73

cit.

02

How Mobile Phones Can Securely Authorize Payments Using Random ID Codes

US 7577616Individualexpires 2026

17

cit.

03

How a Centralized Broker Handles Online Shopping Transactions

US 7865399Google LLCexpires 2025

9

cit.

Year-by-Year Top Patents

Strategic context

Early e-commerce patents covering checkout flows, recommendation algorithms, and digital payments from the dot-com era are expiring, freeing foundational online retail methods. As these patents expire, competitors and open-source projects can freely implement the underlying inventions without license fees. For FTO analysis on specific products, use the FTO Risk Snapshot tool →

Other domain cliffs

Consumer ElectronicsSoftwareAI/MLBiotechTelecomSemiconductor
E-Commerce landscape →Expiry calendar →Expiring soon →All domains →