When this popped up in my news reader this morning, I almost spat out my coffee in disgust. Controversial ride sharing service Uber wants to patent surge pricing:
Uber applied for a U.S. patent last year for “dynamically adjusting prices for service” using mobile devices. The system measures supply (Uber drivers) and demand (passengers hailing rides with smartphones), and prices fares accordingly.
It’s one of at least 13 U.S. patent applications filed by Uber or its founders to give it an edge over potential rivals ahead of a potential initial public offering. So far, Uber hasn’t had any luck. Ten applications were initially rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for “obviousness” or for covering something not eligible for protection.
What Uber is trying to patent is called supply and demand. Less Uber drivers and higher demand means higher prices. That’s a great way to increase their revenue seeing as Uber gets something like 25% of the fare. If anyone deserves to patent this, it’s Adam Smith who came up with this concept in the 1700’s. As a result, I would think that Uber’s attempt to patent this would get shot out of the sky by the USPTO.
Ignoring that, most businesses would avoid such a business practice because it is difficult to manage and can cause customers to be really, really pissed off at the business if they are on the wrong end of this. Just look at how people view oil companies every time the price jumps at the pump.
Bottom line: This is a #fail for Uber on multiple levels. They would be well advised to pull the plug on this patent application as well as surge pricing.
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This entry was posted on December 23, 2014 at 9:56 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Uber. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Uber Wants To Patent Surge Pricing
When this popped up in my news reader this morning, I almost spat out my coffee in disgust. Controversial ride sharing service Uber wants to patent surge pricing:
Uber applied for a U.S. patent last year for “dynamically adjusting prices for service” using mobile devices. The system measures supply (Uber drivers) and demand (passengers hailing rides with smartphones), and prices fares accordingly.
It’s one of at least 13 U.S. patent applications filed by Uber or its founders to give it an edge over potential rivals ahead of a potential initial public offering. So far, Uber hasn’t had any luck. Ten applications were initially rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for “obviousness” or for covering something not eligible for protection.
What Uber is trying to patent is called supply and demand. Less Uber drivers and higher demand means higher prices. That’s a great way to increase their revenue seeing as Uber gets something like 25% of the fare. If anyone deserves to patent this, it’s Adam Smith who came up with this concept in the 1700’s. As a result, I would think that Uber’s attempt to patent this would get shot out of the sky by the USPTO.
Ignoring that, most businesses would avoid such a business practice because it is difficult to manage and can cause customers to be really, really pissed off at the business if they are on the wrong end of this. Just look at how people view oil companies every time the price jumps at the pump.
Bottom line: This is a #fail for Uber on multiple levels. They would be well advised to pull the plug on this patent application as well as surge pricing.
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This entry was posted on December 23, 2014 at 9:56 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Uber. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.