The US patent system was branded a joke this week after it was revealed that a fashion designer made an undisclosed sum from clothing websites with a general ebusiness system and method for fashion shopping.

Andrea Rosengard, also known as Andrea Rose, filed the patent in October 1996. It covers the receipt of information about body type and fashion category through any electronic medium, and using the information for cloth selection, fashion data output and receiving customer selections.

The generic patent allowed Rosengard to successfully sue several websites. She also made an undisclosed sum from Public Technologies Multimedia, which acquired the rights to use her virtual dressing room.

US analyst Peter Holston, of analysts Data Central, said that Rosengard's success is an example of the weakness of the US patent system.

First published in Network News