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The dot-com boom of the late 1990’s saw the introduction of many internet technologies. Over the years, these have become indispensable parts of online commerce and define the internet as we know it. One seminal development came from the online retailer, Amazon.com. Amazon developed the “One Click” purchase, allowing customers who are logged in to buy products and have them shipped with a single click.

One Click quickly became the gold standard. Amazon fought for protection of the One Click patent, suing other online retailers if their checkout system utilized less than two clicks. For over two decades, no retailer could hope to match the speed and efficiency with which Amazon could handle online transactions. Their business skyrocketed.

Amazon enjoyed a period of almost no competition until internet entrepreneur Bob Hanson began a rival online marketplace called amaZone. Infamous for their ongoing legal battles regarding brand-name similarities, amaZone has managed to counter Amazon’s litigation every step of the way. Now, they have just upped the ante in the checkout lane, with their introduction of the highly controversial None Click.

None Click works on the idea that temporal lingering indicates interest. After three regular, multi-click purchases for calibration, the None Click system is able to judge the length of time an individual typically spends on a product’s page before buying. Future orders can then be processed with no clicks. After the dwell time on the product’s page is long enough to indicate purchasing interest, the item is ordered automatically, with no additional input from the shopper.

amaZone’s Director of Marketing, Preston Wescott, says, “None Click is an enormous advantage to our customers. Many have commented how cumbersome Amazon’s One Click system was, requiring entire clicks to purchase an item. We have eliminated this barrier to market entry, speeding up our customer’s buying cycle, and increasing shopping enjoyment.”

But according to many, the result of None Click is much more insidious. Lew Marinni found out about None Click by accident—an accident that cost him thousands of dollars. “A friend of mine sent me a link to a pair of designer jeans that retailed for $2,997,” he explained. “I took a look, and had a laugh at thinking anyone would spend that much on a single pair of pants.” It was an innocuous scenario; one that plays out on the internet thousands of times a day. “But then I got a call from my wife saying she had a flat tire. I immediately left the house to help her, but since I never closed the browser, I ended up buying the jeans.”

Hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees later, Marinni has still not recovered his money. He is fighting the company, but amaZone maintains they have done nothing wrong. “The None Click is not automatically enabled,” explains amaZone’s President and CEO, Bob Hanson. “It must be clicked on to be activated, so clearly the customer enabled the service. We can hardly be held responsible.”

Justin Anderson, a noted blogger who runs the online retailer review site We Don’t Buy It, said that amaZone’s practices are not as straightforward as they would make them seem. “We discovered that the button for enabling None Click is actually underneath the button used to check out your third purchase. By buying from them three times, you ‘automatically’ enable it by clicking both buttons at the same time. Sure, it’s in the fine print, but it’s still a pretty scummy thing to do.”

Marinni’s lawyer, Timothy Patterson, of The Offices of Ringer, Patterson and Clay, has mentioned the possibility of a class action lawsuit against amaZone. “It is preposterous that sales can be rung without the express permission of an individual. [amaZone] has no way of measuring the myriad of circumstances that contribute to dwell time. The consumer, for example, could step away from the computer, at which point they are no longer considering the page on their screen. One does not waive rights simply by navigating through time and space.”

“The argument that existing in one place for a time does not indicate intent is a weak one,” maintains CEO Hanson. “There are many instances in which it does. If you stand around in an airport long enough, you’ll be arrested as a security threat. If you park in a no parking zone, you get a ticket. Our model is no different.”

Aside from the legal action on the consumer front, amaZone is yet again in the crosshairs of Amazon. Amazon spokeswoman Anne Davies declined to comment on the case directly, but mentioned that they are reviewing their own One Click patent. She said, “at this point, we are trying to clarify whether our patent covers just single clicks specifically, or also all numbers of clicks fewer than one.”

Without acknowledging existing shortcomings, amaZone’s Director of Marketing admits that they are taking a second look at the technology with an eye toward improvement. Preston Wescott elaborated, saying, “we will be adding a ‘None Click Zone’. Customer purchase intent can then be gauged by the proximity of the pointer to the None Click Zone. After the temporal purchase window, one simply needs to move in the approximate area of the zone to make a purchase.” Wescott also mentioned the updates are in beta, but declined to comment further.

Despite the promises of a redesigned None Click system, critics remain skeptical. amaZone refused to comment on Marinni’s case, citing its privacy policy. On September 25, Justin Anderson posted to We Don’t Buy It: “That amaZone refuses to acknowledge None Click’s shortcomings, or help Mr. Marinni in any way, is practically an admission that the system isn’t working. None Click is fundamentally flawed.” He finished with his trademarked tag, adding, “They say this is in the customer’s best interest. We don’t buy it.”