Saudi Claims He Invented e-Commerce, Intends to Sue Firms Which Use It

Al Arabiya ^ | Friday, 27 May 2016

[nickcarraway]

A Saudi man who claims he invented the concept of e-commerce during the early days of the internet says that he is talks with big firms who wish to avoid litigation for stealing his world-changing idea.

“There are now undergoing negotiations with big companies inside [the kingdom] and abroad to find a solution without opting to head to international judiciary,” Faisal bin Fahd al-Osaimi told the local Saudi daily Okaz.

Osaimi said he presented the concept of e-commerce to the late King Fahd in 1991, the same year the internet was born.

The late king reportedly referred him to the trade ministry and the King Abdul Aziz City of Technology, a scientific organization. But Osaimi says he did not get any feedback from them.

When asked why he kept quiet all this years over what he alleges to be his world-changing idea, he said: “I previously made several press interviews but I think that it is the time now for me to appear stronger than before.”

If his claims are accepted, Osaimi could be eligible for massive royalties.

The brainchild of British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee – the internet became available to the public in August 1991.

A quarter of a century later, e-commerce websites, including Amazon, Alibaba, and Ebay, lead a multi-trillion dollar industry.

[Dallas59]

Just like Muslims invented everything else?

[Pearls Before Swine]

Good luck with that. He told a story (supposedly) to the King, and that’s his documentation. Typical Muz reasoning.

[Dallas59]

A timeline for the development of e-commerce:

1971 or 1972: The ARPANET is used to arrange a cannabis sale between students at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, later described as "the seminal act of e-commerce" in John Markoff's book What the Dormouse Said.

1979: Michael Aldrich demonstrates the first online shopping system.

1981: Thomson Holidays UK is the first business-to-business online shopping system to be installed.

1982: Minitel was introduced nationwide in France by France Télécom and used for online ordering.

1983: California State Assembly holds first hearing on "electronic commerce" in Volcano, California. Testifying are CPUC, MCI Mail, Prodigy, CompuServe, Volcano Telephone, and Pacific Telesis. (Not permitted to testify is Quantum Technology, later to become AOL.)

1984: Gateshead SIS/Tesco is first B2C online shopping system and Mrs Snowball, 72, is the first online home shopper

1984: In April 1984, CompuServe launches the Electronic Mall in the USA and Canada. It is the first comprehensive electronic commerce service.

1990: Tim Berners-Lee writes the first web browser, WorldWideWeb, using a NeXT computer.

1992: Book Stacks Unlimited in Cleveland opens a commercial sales website (www.books.com) selling books online with credit card processing.

[WMarshal]

The Saudis are very industrious people. It is amazing what they think they can do in their spare time in-between sessions of murder, larceny, and goat raping.

Things are coming to a head with the inbred, idiotic Saudis.

[eyedigress]

BS. Algore invented the internet.

[wastedyears]

Next, one of them will say they put men on the moon instead of NASA.

[nickcarraway]

1971 or 1972: The ARPANET is used

Maybe it was ARABNET.

[Larry Lucido]

You mean the first sale was grass, not porn?

[Robert DeLong]

He sure waited a long time to complain.

[nickcarraway]

Possibly. They do own the moon, right?

[TLI]

The price of oil must REALLY be screwing with them.

.

[stylin19a]

Osaimi said he presented the concept of e-commerce to the late King Fahd in 1991, the same year the internet was born.

Guy kills his own lawsuit - simple research - Internet was NOT born in 1991.(1960s - arpanet)
They might mean the WWW, though that was 1989.
WWW was brought into homes about 1994.

[BenLurkin]

Al-Arabi Goreah.

[nickcarraway]

I guess he’s not saying he invented the internet, but he invented e-commerce.

[eyedigress]

I was still using Crazy Eddies BBS in 1991.

[jcon40]

great comment. ..

[kingu]

So I wonder, do I have to go to Saudi Arabia to sue this guy for stealing my idea? I made my first sale online back in 1985, and maintained a dial-up store until we switched to the web in 1994.

[Dallas59]

Weed leads to porn..

[roadcat]

He sure waited a long time to complain.

Well, he has been busy over the last couple decades inventing the 110-baud modem. The Saudis are a wee bit slow, must be the 85 I.Q. thing.