Amazon recently won a patent for perhaps the most commonly used photography technique around: snapping a picture of an object against a white background. But according to experts, the patent isn't exactly what it seems and shouldn't have as much of a profound impact on photographers as they think.

The news of the patent win first surfaced about two weeks ago, and the resulting uproar focused on supposed ownership of a basic technique. Technically, it could mean Amazon has license to sue anyone shooting a catalog.

See also: The 18 Most Important Features in iOS 8

Not surprisingly, photographers are not happy. In fact, there's already a petition circulating with nearly 45,000 signatures asking the US Patent and Trademark Office to appeal the parent.

"It's an abuse of copyright and a mockery of the patent system — and we're calling on the USPT Office to declare the reasoning for the patent invalid and get rid of this exercise in ego now," the petition description reads on Watchdog.net. "We don't know if Amazon is about to start sending demand letters to photo studies [sic] or if it just wanted to be able to say that a photography 101 trick that been used for decades is something it thought up."

But Doug Manchee, Professor of Advertising Photography at Rochester Institute of Technology, believes some photographers are overreacting because they don't understand what the patent prohibits.

"Amazon does not have a patent to shoot on a background; rather, the patent is for the particular set up in their studio that involves certain types of lenses, cameras and lighting," Manchee told Mashable.

“Amazon can’t patent shooting on a white background because it didn’t invent that technique,” he said. “The patent is for a specific way to shoot, and that is why the photo community is both amused and confused by this: it’s just not enforceable.”

In fact, if Amazon were to serve up legal papers to a photographer for copying their method, it would have to go to great lengths to do so. Sure, the company could request the original file — which stores information like shutter speed and camera model — but there’s no data on the lighting.

“Nobody knows why Amazon did this — and why they would even want to — and we’re all just scratching our heads,” Manchee added.

Manchee believes the patent won’t actually affect how photographers shoot in the future.

“Some photographers are overreacting because they don’t know the specifics,” he said. “People shoot against a white background thousands of times a day — e-commerce is based on this method — but because Amazon didn’t come up with it, photographers can still proceed. You could always adjust the shutter speed by just a little.”

The patent specifies lights should be placed in certain positions and are modified by attachments to those lights. If a photographer were to move one of the lights a foot or two in any direction, a person wouldn’t be in violation of the patent.

South Dakota-based Chris Reistroffer, who has been shooting for 15 years, is among the photographers who signed the petition and is upset about the patent ruling.

"I hope this doesn't open up the opportunity for other companies to trademark other common photography methods," Reistroffer said. "If another company puts a patent on a black border or a '50s style photo against a certain background, it could eventually affect creativity. It's a dangerous slope."