The patents deal with intellectual property issues ranging from advertising to hyperlink technology to electronic catalogs. Financial information concerning the magnitude of the damages was not disclosed.
"These are high-quality patents," said IBM spokesman Edward Barbini. "To not enforce our patent rights would be a discredit to those who fairly and lawfully use these licenses."
IBM filed its suits in Texas' eastern district, which is known for expedient patent infringement trials: It played host to some of Vonage's numerous legal battles and to a settlement last month between Nortel Networks and Ciena.
A statement from IBM asserts that the company had been attempting to resolve the patent issues with Amazon since September 2002.