P.S. I would think that NeoMedia's legal case would be a good one to study for prior art purposes. They were the first, I believe, to incorporate the camera phone for scanning bar codes. But, since their patent is so closely related to other bar code reader patents it won't pass the muster of obviousness ? Is it the case of a great idea, but not a good patent? It would seem.

Amazon Japan Offers Barcode Purchases via Camera Phone

Posted by timothy on Wed Nov 24, 2004 04:12 AM

"Jesse James Garrett reports that Amazon Mobile Japan customers can purchase a item with their camera phones. "Snap a photo of a product bar code using your cell phone, and Amazon Japan will give you a price check," according to Garrett, relaying from this article in Ketai Watch (Wireless Watch). Here's the English translation from Babelfish."

http://slashdot.org/articles/04/11/2...

Be well