USPTO GRANYS AMAZON SUPER-SPECIFIC "TAKING PHOTOS" PATENT

Clearly, we missed out on a few patents of our own: Applying words in a seamless fashion to create an overview of technological-themed updates on a daily basis, combining imagery and words for the purposes of illustrating breaking news item…
Oh, wait, we might not be able to do that last one. According to a variety of reports, mostly stemming from a great bit of sleuthing by the website DIY Photography, Amazon has apparently filed for (and received) a patent for the highly complicated process of shooting a picture against a white background.
Yep. We're not making this up. Here are the technical details of Amazon's groundbreaking achievement:
"a background comprising a white cyclorama; a front light source positioned in a longitudinal axis intersecting the background, the longitudinal axis further being substantially perpendicular to a surface of the white cyclorama; an image capture position located between the background and the front light source in the longitudinal axis, the image capture position comprising at least one image capture device equipped with an eighty-five millimeter lens, the at least one image capture device further configured with an ISO setting of about three hundred twenty and an f-stop value of about 5.6," reads Amazon's patent.
So, that's quite specific. As a few have noted, one would have to combine all of Amazon's specific claims together in a single instance in order to infringe the totality of the patent. In other words, it's likely that Amazon isn't going to start going after photography studios.
"On one hand, the listed stipulations make it easier to route around. On the other hand, two of the specifics are hedged with the word 'about,' leaving only the 85mm lens specification as truly 'unique,'" notes TechDirt.
It's unclear just what Amazon's primary goal is by pursuing the patent, which it originally filed back in 2011. It's possible that Amazon, which naturally takes tons of product photos on a regular basis, is simply attempting to shield itself from patent trolls who might otherwise come after the company in some ridiculous fashion.
Fight fire with fire, we suppose, given that Amazon has been granted a patent that includes this description of the technological workflow one has to go through: Activate a rear light source, activate a front light source, position the subject on an elevated platform, and "initiate capture."
In other words: Take a photo of something.
"This patent may be specific, but certainly not novel. See Avedon, or any product photo in recent years. This is a great example of the system off its rails restraining innovation, and this is from someone who love Amazon," writes Ask Patents commenter "bhimoff."
While Amazon might have prevailed at the U.S. Patent Office, the move hasn't done much to win over the court of public opinion.