Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claims 1-13 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites in pertinent part “a plurality of Database server (3) coupled with the cloud server (2), a load balancers (4) distributes the information received from the user throughout the cloud server (2),an user Interface (5) preferably allows the user (7) to establish a connection with the Database server (3), an admin Interface (8) preferably allows admin (9) to manage the system (1) residing on the cloud server (2),a third party application programming interface apps (10); … a leasing/sub leasing platform(1030), a guarantor services (1031), an insurance services (1026), an supplementary services platform and payment facilitation platform and a plurality of functioning components for short term renting including seasonal pricing management platform (52), and cancellation and refund services(22)..”
Please change “server” to read “servers”, change “a load balancers (4) distributes “ to “a load balancer (4) distributes), change “an user Interface (5) preferably” to read “a user Interface (5) that preferably”, change “an admin Interface (8) preferably” to read “an admin Interface (8) that preferably”, change “a third party application programming interface apps” to read “a third party application programming interface app”, change “a guarantor services” to read “a guarantor service”, change “an insurance services” to read “an insurance service”, and remove one of the two periods at the end of the claim.
Referring to claim 2 the claim recites in pertinent part “wherein plurality of Database server … an user Database”.
Please amend “plurality of database server” to read “plurality of database servers” and “an user Database” to read “a user Database”.
Referring to claim 5 the claim recites in pertinent part “wherein the said functional components”. Please amend to remove either “the” or “said”.
Referring to claim 7 the claim recites in pertinent part “(e) Searching of property by tenant on property searching platform (1009) into the system (1) … (g) Short listing the property on property showing platform (1010) into the system (1) by tenant, … (i) Checking meeting availability (1015) in landlord meeting calendar (1014)into user Database (3.3) and if dates are available tenant gets meeting slot (1016) and the said slot timing is stored in user Database (3.3), (j) Scheduling a video meeting (1017) on meeting management platform into the system (1) and storing in database, … (n) Searching for a lawyer (1022) on notarization platform into database by system (1) and paying the fees for lawyer(1023), …. (q) Allocating the property to the tenant(1025) and paying security deposit(1026) and rent (1027) via payment gateway into the system (1)”.
Please change “into the system” to read “in the system”, change “into the system” to read “in the system”, change “into user Database” to read “in user Database”, change “into the system” to read “in the system”, change “into database” to” to read “in database”, and change “gateway into” to “gateway in”.
Referring to claims 8-13, each of the claims are dependent of claim 6. Please amend each of the claims so that they claim dependency from claim 7.
Referring to claim 10, the claim recites in pertinent part “guarantor includes documents”. Please change to read “guarantor service includes documents”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-13 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Referring to claim 1, the claim recites in pertinent part “a load balancers (4) distributes the information received from the user throughout the cloud server”. There is a lack of antecedent basis for “the user”.
Referring to claim 5, the t term “and the like” is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “and the like” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Referring to claim 6, the claim recites “wherein the said functional components are designed with Al (Artificial Intelligence) and machine learning tools”. There is a lack of antecedent basis for “the said functional components”
Referring to claim 7, the claim recites in pertinent part “(a) Registering and logging on login/registration platform into the system (1) by landlord(1001)… (j) Scheduling a video meeting (1017) on meeting management platform into the system (1) and storing in database… (q) Allocating the property to the tenant(1025) and paying security deposit(1026) and rent (1027) via payment gateway into the system (1) and stores in property Database.”
There is a lack of antecedent basis for “the system”. Further it is unclear to the Examiner what is being stored in the database or property Database in steps (j) and (q).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Step 1: Claims 1-6 recite a system (machine), Claims 7-13 recite a method (process), and Claims 14-18 and therefore fall into a statutory category.
Step 2A – Prong 1 (Is a Judicial Exception Recited?):
Referring to claims 1-18 the claims recite concepts for organizing the rental of a property and services for renting a property, which under its broadest reasonable interpretation covers concepts covered under the Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity grouping of abstract ideas.
The abstract idea portion of the claims is as follows:
Claim 1
[A system] for providing versatile solutions to rental platform with artificial intelligence comprises: [a computing device, a network (6), a cloud server (2), a plurality of Database server (3) coupled with the cloud server (2),]
[a load balancers (4) distributes the information received from the user throughout the cloud server (2),]
[an user Interface (5) preferably allows the user (7) to establish a connection with the Database server (3),]
[an admin Interface (8) preferably allows admin (9) to manage the system (1) residing on the cloud server (2),]
[a third party application programming interface apps (10);]
[ and a plurality of functioning components for] long term renting including [a login/ registration platform, a property listing/search platform(1005), a property showing platform(1008), a meeting management platform(1013), an agreement negotiation platform(1020),a notarization platform(1024), a leasing/sub leasing platform(1030), a guarantor services (1031), an insurance services (1026), an supplementary services platform and payment facilitation platform and a plurality of functioning components for] short term renting [including seasonal pricing management platform (52), and cancellation and refund services(22)]..
(Claim 7)
A method for providing versatile solutions to rental platform with artificial intelligence for long term comprising:
(a) Registering and logging on [login/registration platform into the system] (1) by landlord(1001),
(b) Verifying landlord profile(1002) [via third party verification application programming interface (1003)],
(c) Creating property listing(1005) [on property listing platform] and defining the terms (1006),
(d) Publishing the property(1007) [in UI property listing (1008)],
(e) Searching of property by tenant [on property searching platform (1009) into the system (1)],
(f) Getting results [from property Database (3.4)],
(g) Short listing the property [on property showing platform (1010) into the system (1)] by tenant,
(h) Sending meeting request to the landlord (1012) for selected property [through meeting management platform(1013)],
(i) Checking meeting availability (1015) in landlord meeting calendar (1014) [into user Database (3.3)] and if dates are available tenant gets meeting slot (1016) and the said slot timing is stored [in user Database (3.3)],
(j) Scheduling a video meeting (1017) [on meeting management platform into the system (1)] and storing [ in database],
(k) Sending reminders and notification to the landlord and tenant regarding meeting (1018),
(1) Finalizing the tenancy agreement [on agreement negotiation platform] after meeting(1020),
(m) Notarizing the agreement [on notarization platform(1021)],
(n) Searching for a lawyer (1022) [on notarization platform into database by system (1)] and paying the fees for lawyer(1023),
(o) Verifying and notarizing the documents[ via lawyer meeting manager(1024)],
(p) Notifying the landlord and tenant when lawyer verify and notarize the documents,
(q) Allocating the property to the tenant(1025) and paying security deposit(1026) and rent (1027) [via payment gateway into the system (1)] and stores [in property Database (3.4)],
(r) Providing insurance to the tenant (1028),
(s) Managing tenant and landlord account (1030).
(Claim 14)
A method for providing versatile solutions to rental platform with artificial intelligence for short term comprising:
(a) Registering and logging on [login/registration platform into the system (1)] by user,
(b) Adding property [into property database] by host,
(c) Managing seasonal pricing for property by host,
(d) Listing of property [into system from property database],
(e) Cancellation and refund services for users.
Where the portions not bracketed recite the abstract idea.
Here the claims recite concepts capable of being performed in certain methods of organizing human activity including commercial or legal interactions and/or managing personal behavior or interactions between people but for the recitation of generic computer components. In the present application concepts reciting a manner for organizing services for renting a property (See paragraphs 1-11).
If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers concepts capable of being performed in commercial or legal interactions and/or managing personal interactions between people, it falls under the Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity grouping of abstract ideas. See MPEP 2106.04.
Step 2A-Prong 2 (Is the Exception Integrated into a Practical Application?):
The examiner views the following as the additional elements:
System. (See paragraph 47)
Computing device. (See paragraph 47)
Network. (See paragraph 44)
Cloud server. (See paragraph 47)
Plurality of database server. (See paragraphs 47 and 49)
Load balancers. (See paragraph 47)
User Interface. (See paragraph 47)
Admin Interface. (See paragraphs 47 and 50)
Third party application programming interfaces. (See paragraph 47)
Plurality of functioning components. (See paragraphs 51 and 65)
Login/registration platform. (See paragraph 51)
Property listing/search platform. (See paragraph 51)
Property showing platform. (See paragraph 51)
Meeting management platform. (See paragraph 51)
Agreement negotiation platform. (See paragraph 51)
Notarization platform. (See paragraph 51)
Guarantor services. (See paragraph 51)
Insurance services. (See paragraph 51)
Supplementary services platform. (See paragraph 51)
Payment facilitation platform. (See paragraph 65)
Seasonal pricing management platform. (See paragraph 65)
Cancellation and refund services. (See paragraph 65)
Third party API. (See paragraph 47)
Property listing platform. (See paragraph 66)
UI property listing. (See paragraph 52)
Property searching platform. (See paragraph 51)
Property database. (See paragraph 52)
User Database. (See paragraph 52)
Database. (See paragraph 46)
Agreement negotiation platform. (See paragraph 51)
Lawyer meeting manager. (See paragraph 56)
Payment gateway. (See paragraph 59)
These additional elements are recited at a high-level of generality such that they act to merely “apply” the abstract idea using generic computing components and do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. (See MPEP 2106.05 (f))
Referring to “a load balancers (4) distributes the information received from the user throughout the cloud server (2), an user Interface (5) preferably allows the user (7) to establish a connection with the Database server (3), an admin Interface (8) preferably allows admin (9) to manage the system (1) residing on the cloud server (2)” the examiner views as results-oriented solution steps lacking details and therefore equivalent to mere instructions to apply the abstract idea using generic computing components and do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. (See Id.) and paragraphs 47 and 50 of the Specification).
The combination of these additional elements and/or results oriented steps are no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computing components. (See MPEP 2106.05 (f)) Accordingly, even in combination these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Therefore, the claim is directed to an abstract idea.
Step 2B (Does the claim recite additional elements that amount to Significantly More than the Judicial Exception?):
As noted above, the claims as a whole merely describes a method that generally “apply” the concepts discussed in prong 1 above. (See MPEP 2106.05 f (II)) In particular applicant has recited the computing components at a high-level of generality such that it amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. As the court stated in TLI Communications v. LLC v. AV Automotive LLC, 823 F.3d 607, 613 (Fed. Cir. 2016) merely invoking generic computing components or machinery that perform their functions in their ordinary capacity to facilitate the abstract idea are mere instructions to implement the abstract idea within a computing environment and does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. Accordingly, these additional computer components do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Therefore, even when viewed as a whole, nothing in the claim adds significantly more (i.e. an inventive concept) to the abstract idea and as a result the claim is not patent eligible.
Dependent claim 2 further recites the generic plurality of database server (See paragraphs 47 and 49), a transaction database (See paragraph 49), a listing database (See paragraph 49), an user Database (See paragraph 49), a property Database (See paragraph 49), and an action database (See paragraph 49) for merely implementing the abstract idea using generic computing components which does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or adds significantly more. Therefore claim 2 is considered to be patent ineligible.
Dependent claim 3 recites the results-oriented solution steps of “wherein the third party application programming interface apps (10) allows user to access their functionality via application process and use it on system (1)” (See paragraph 51) and is therefore viewed as equivalent for merely implementing the abstract idea using generic computing components which does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or adds significantly more. Therefore claim 3 is considered to be patent ineligible.
Dependent claim 4 further defines the abstract idea as identified. Additionally, the claim
recites the generic meeting management platform (See paragraph 51) for merely implementing the abstract idea using generic computing components which does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or adds significantly more. Therefore claim 4 is considered to be patent ineligible.
Dependent claim 5 further defines the abstract idea as identified. Additionally, the claim
recites the generic supplementary services platform (See paragraph 51) for merely implementing the abstract idea using generic computing components which does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or adds significantly more. Therefore claim 5 is considered to be patent ineligible.
Dependent claim 6 recites the results-oriented solution steps of “wherein the said functional components are designed with AI (Artificial Intelligence) and machine learning” (See paragraph 51) and is therefore viewed as equivalent for merely implementing the abstract idea using generic computing components which does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or adds significantly more. Therefore claim 6 is considered to be patent ineligible.
Dependent claim 8 further defines the abstract idea as identified. Additionally, the claim
recites the generic meeting management component (See paragraph 51) for merely implementing the abstract idea using generic computing components which does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or adds significantly more. Therefore claim 8 is considered to be patent ineligible.
Dependent claim 9 further defines the abstract idea as identified. Additionally, the claim
recites the generic guarantor service (See paragraph 51) for merely implementing the abstract idea using generic computing components which does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or adds significantly more. Therefore claim 9 is considered to be patent ineligible.
Dependent claims 10, 12, and 15-16 further define the abstract idea as identified. Therefore claims 10, 12, and 15-16 are considered to be patent ineligible.
Dependent claim 11 further defines the abstract idea as identified. Additionally, the claim recites the generic 3rd party application programming interface database (See paragraph 59) for merely implementing the abstract idea using generic computing components which does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or adds significantly more. Therefore claim 11 is considered to be patent ineligible.
Dependent claims 13 and 18 further define the abstract idea as identified. Additionally, the claim recites the generic system (See paragraph 47) for merely implementing the abstract idea using generic computing components which does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or adds significantly more. Therefore claim 13 and 18 are considered to be patent ineligible
Dependent claim 17 further defines the abstract idea as identified. Additionally, the claim recites the generic property listing platform (See paragraph 66) for merely implementing the abstract idea using generic computing components which does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or adds significantly more. Therefore claim 17 is considered to be patent ineligible
In conclusion the claims do not provide an inventive concept, because the claims do not recite additional elements or a combination of elements that amount to significantly more than the judicial exception of the claims. There is no indication that the combination of elements improves the functioning of a computer or improves any other technology, and the collective functions merely provide conventional computer implementation. Therefore, whether taken individually or as an order combination, the claims are nonetheless rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zeqiri (US 20190114726), Pompa et al. (US 20220172309), Spickes et al. (US Patent No. (11,393,056) and Sher (US 20180322597).
Referring to claim 1,
The Examiner views that the preamble serves as providing the intended use of the system and therefore is not given meaningful patentable weight for examination purposes
Zeqiri, which is directed to rental real estate information sharing teaches:
A system for providing versatile solutions to rental platform with artificial intelligence comprises: a computing device, a network (6), (Zeqiri paragraph 31 teaching FIG. 3 shows an electronic communication network 60 for transmitting information between users 20-24 using one or more of computer system 62, cell phone 66, or tablet computer 70 to access electronic information exchange agent 12. Computer system 62 is connected to electronic communication network 60 by way of communication channel or link 64. Likewise, cellular telephone or smartphone 66 connects to electronic communication network 60 via communication link 68 and tablet computer 70 is connected to electronic communication network 60 by way of communication channel or link 72. Information exchange agent 12 operating on a computer server communicates with electronic communication network 60 over communication channel or link 74.)
a third party application programming interface apps (10); (Zeqiri paragraphs 36-37 teaching in one embodiment, electronic information exchange agent 12 includes an API accessed by users 20-24. Users 20-24 enter data directly using the API, or through websites and applications connected to electronic information exchange agent 12 via the API. An API facilitates the request and retrieval of information on behalf of a software program or application. An API is a set of commands, functions, and protocols, which programmers or developers use when building software for a specific operating system or application. An API allows programmers to use predefined functions to interact with an external application or computer system. An API allows a software application to communicate with other applications running on a remote server over the internet using a series of API calls. With APIs, calls back and forth between applications are managed through web services.)
and a plurality of functioning components for long term renting including a login/ registration platform, a property listing/search platform(1005), ), a leasing/sub leasing platform(1030), and a plurality of functioning components for short term renting including seasonal pricing management platform (52), (Zeqiri paragraphs 3-4 teaching consider a situation where a user is seeking information on real estate, e.g., residential rental information for a geographical area. The internet has many websites dedicated to real estate sales and rentals, e.g., Zillow.com, Trulia.com, Rent.com, Homes.com, Craigslist.com, and Apatments.com. The websites contain information on units, location, features, amenities, pricing, incentives, and lease terms. For example, a residential unit is 1500 square feet and located at a given address, with two bedrooms, two baths, private patio, and two-car garage. The unit is unfurnished, tile floors, no pets, community pool, and the local schools are provided. The rental price and incentives are given with other leasing terms. All rental information is entered by the listing agent or owner to one or more of the above websites and is searchable to interested parties. The listing agent or owner collects the rental information from a variety of sources, i.e., architectural plans, personal and public records, survey of the unit and surrounding area, maps, financial and loan records, tax records, homeowner association records, and competitive analysis. The listing agent or owner determines rental pricing based on a number of factors, including cost of ownership, return on investment, competitive market analysis, and other financial indicators. The agent or owner posts the listing on one or more of the above websites with features, amenities, and market pricing, as best can be determined at the time. Zeqiri paragraph 27 teaching User 20 is a listing agent or owner with rental property to offer for lease. Likewise, user 22 and 24 are each independent listing agents or owners with rental property to offer for lease. User 26 is a renter in need of a rental property to lease. Users 20-24 are considered competitors among themselves, each with property that may be of interest to user 26. Electronic information exchange agent 12 functions as an organizer and facilitator between users 20-24 to collect, organize, analyze, disperse, exchange, share, and report rental property information provided by users 20-24 using database 14 on electronic information exchange platform 28 executing on computer system 10. User 26 may also make use of the rental property information, as provided by users 20-24, on electronic information exchange platform 28. Zeqiri paragraph 30 teaching data structure 30 includes administrative field 32 for tracking information related to users 20-24, such as name, address, email, phone, contact persons by area of responsibility, and identified or acknowledged competitors. Property inventory field 34 includes name(s) and location(s) of rental property inventory and number of units per location. Property inventory can be the Casa Norte multi-family complex at a given address with 200 rental units. Property description field 36 includes unit name, unit number, floorplan, unit style, or square footage within the property inventory. A property description can be unit 12B with the 1250 square foot Regent floorplan including living room, kitchen, dining room, two bedrooms, two baths, and walk-in closet at the Casa Norte multi-family complex. Features field 38 includes features associated with a particular floorplan, unit style, unit name, or square footage within the property inventory. Features can be private patio, ground-level access, covered parking or garage, stainless steel appliances, tile floors, fireplace, and park view associated with the particular Regent 1250 square foot floorplan at the Casa Norte multi-family complex. Amenities field 40 includes amenities associated with the property inventory, such as community pool, community exercise room, common areas, retail access, local school system, clubhouse, public parks, lakes, golf course, visibility, walkability, public transportation, pet-friendly or no pets depending on preference, and quiet times associated with the Casa Norte multi-family complex. Pricing field 42 includes pricing for a particular unit within the property inventory. Incentives field 44 includes incentives for one or more units within the property inventory. Incentives include free or reduced rental pricing for limited time during long-term lease, offer for fresh paint, offer to upgrade flooring, option to change units when a more desirable unit becomes available, and other discounts. Leasing terms field 46 includes terms and conditions of the lease, such as length of lease, renewal options, security deposit, termination, subleasing, premises liability, maintenance and repairs, pets, and offensive behavior. Traffic field 48 includes occurrence, frequency, date, and times of prospective tenants stopping by, touring, or otherwise inquiring about one or more units within the property inventory. Leases field 50 includes a number of leases executed within a time period. Lease percentage field 52 includes a percentage of units leased. Occupancy field 54 includes a percentage of units within all or a portion of the property inventory that are occupied. Zeqiri paragraph 40 teaching to interact with electronic information exchange agent 12, user 20-24 creates an account and profile with the information exchange agent. Full access requires completion of a registration process. User 20-24 accesses webpage 100 operated by information exchange agent 12 on electronic information exchange platform 28 and provides data to complete the registration and activation process, as shown in FIG. 5. Zeqiri paragraph 42 teaching the user's profile is stored and maintained within database 14. User 20-24 can access and update his or her profile or interact with electronic information exchange agent 12. Manage users 122 allows users 20-24 to add, modify, and delete users and profile information with webpage 100. Users 20-24 can change passwords, set notification preferences, communicate directly with information exchange agent 12, and assign users to properties. The user's profile and personal data remains secure and, where appropriate, confidential within electronic information exchange agent 12.)
Zeqiri does not teach or suggest a cloud server (2), a plurality of Database server (3) coupled with the cloud server (2), a load balancers (4) distributes the information received from the user throughout the cloud server (2), an user Interface (5) preferably allows the user (7) to establish a connection with the Database server (3), a property showing platform(1008), a meeting management platform(1013)
However, Pompa, which is directed to providing property listing recommendations teaches a cloud server (2), a plurality of Database server (3) coupled with the cloud server (2) (Pompa paragraph 26 teaching irrespective of the implemented software interface, customer interactions are communicated to a database of user match profiles, user match profile database 103. In some examples, user match profile database 103 can be hosted on a remote server/system and/or may consist of a distributed database hosted across a multitude of network connected computing devices, in some cases, in a computing cluster or cloud computing environment. In some aspects, customer interactions can provide indications of customer preferences relating to a search for real property listings. By way of example, the UI through which the customer interacts may provide options for specifying a variety of parameters associated with real property listings, including, but not limited to: price, size, geographic location, property type.)
a load balancers (4) distributes the information received from the user throughout the cloud server (2), (Pompa paragraph 26 teaching irrespective of the implemented software interface, customer interactions are communicated to a database of user match profiles, user match profile database 103. In some examples, user match profile database 103 can be hosted on a remote server/system and/or may consist of a distributed database hosted across a multitude of network connected computing devices, in some cases, in a computing cluster or cloud computing environment. In some aspects, customer interactions can provide indications of customer preferences relating to a search for real property listings. By way of example, the UI through which the customer interacts may provide options for specifying a variety of parameters associated with real property listings, including, but not limited to: price, size, geographic location, property type. Pompa paragraph 43 teaching the software system gateway 314, in connecting the public and private portions of the property matching system, provides authentication and load balancing. The authentication may facilitate the internal/private portion associated the connection of the property matching system to an appropriate public portion tied to the customer 302. In some examples, load balancing controls the work-related distribution between the various elements illustrated in FIG. 3B, and may be used to provide properties based on customer preference.)
an user Interface (5) preferably allows the user (7) to establish a connection with the Database server (3), (Pompa paragraph 26 teaching irrespective of the implemented software interface, customer interactions are communicated to a database of user match profiles, user match profile database 103. In some examples, user match profile database 103 can be hosted on a remote server/system and/or may consist of a distributed database hosted across a multitude of network connected computing devices, in some cases, in a computing cluster or cloud computing environment. In some aspects, customer interactions can provide indications of customer preferences relating to a search for real property listings. By way of example, the UI through which the customer interacts may provide options for specifying a variety of parameters associated with real property listings, including, but not limited to: price, size, geographic location, property type.)
a property showing platform(1008), a meeting management platform(1013)(Pompa paragraph 117 teaching through the chat component, information about times and dates can be extracted and used by the property matching system to automatically suggest and schedule appointments based on the availability of each party via the appointment component. Each of the parties may have previously provided their availability into the appointments component or may have synchronized their own personal calendar with the property matching system. With the availability information, if dates and times for suggested meetings are being provided by the buyer for possible tours (with the realtor) or signing of necessary paperwork (with the mortgage broker), the appointments component can review the availability for the corresponding parties and suggest times that can be approved via chat, email or text. The appointment component can then provide an invitation to each of the corresponding parties so that the event (e.g. house tour, in-person consultation) can be accepted into their respective calendars. In some embodiments, the appointments component may also be capable of automatically updating the corresponding parties' calendars with the scheduled appointment if no other prior events were scheduled during the same time period. Pompa paragraph 123 teaching with respect to FIG. 9D, user interface 930 illustrates how various tour requests and appointments can be automatically generated and stored on a realtor's calendar. In response to a tour request, the appointment component can generate a reminder and illustrate it in the realtor calendar. In this way, the realtor can have the property matching system automatically manage the realtor's schedule with what date and time the tours are requested and with which buyer the tours are scheduled by. This allows the realtor to minimize double booking and streamline the scheduling process based on the realtor's available.)
It would have been obvious to modify the manner of organizing the rental process as taught in Zeqiri to incorporate a cloud server (2), a plurality of Database server (3) coupled with the cloud server (2), a load balancers (4) distributes the information received from the user throughout the cloud server (2), an user Interface (5) preferably allows the user (7) to establish a connection with the Database server (3), a property showing platform(1008), a meeting management platform(1013) as taught in Pompa with the motivation of facilitating a rental transaction by allowing users to query listings for identifying and coordinating meetings and tours with an owner and incorporating means for handling a number of a requests. (Pompa paragraphs 26, 43, 117 and 123)
Zeqiri in view of Pompa does not teach or suggest an admin Interface (8) preferably allows admin (9) to manage the system (1) residing on the cloud server (2),
However, Spickes, which is directed to managing property tours teaches, an admin Interface (8) preferably allows admin (9) to manage the system (1) residing on the cloud server (2), (Spickes column 4 lines 14-42 teaching the clients 110, 120, 130 each comprise a computing device that interfaces with the property tour management server 150 to obtain inputs from users and to receive and display information received from the property tour management server 150. The agent client device 110, buyer client device 120, and administrator client device 130 are each configured for operation by a real estate agent, prospective property buyer, and administrator of a real estate organization respectively to enable access to relevant information and functions of the property tour management server 150. The client devices 110, 120, 130 may be configured such that the different entities (e.g., agent, buyer, and administrator) may have access to different information and functions that are not necessarily accessible to other entities. For example, the agent client device 110 may provide access to information relevant to multiple different buyers while the buyer client device 120 may enable access to information relevant only to that buyer. The administrator client device 130 may enable access to information relating to multiple agents affiliated with the organization. In an embodiment, a client 110, 120, 130 may comprise, for example, a mobile device, a tablet, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, or other computing device capable of communicating and displaying information. The agent client device 110, buyer client device 120, and administrator client device 130 may each execute a browser or an application that interacts with the property tour management server 150 to facilitate the functions of the respective devices 110, 120, 130 described herein. Spickes column 8 line 54 to column 9 line 5 teaching (41) The organization administrator portal 206 comprises an interface to enable an administrator of a real estate organization having an account in the organization profile database 230 to access various features of the property tour management server 150. For example, the administrator may gain access to reports and analytical data relating to the agents that are affiliated with the organization. For example, the administrator may be able to track sales results, data pertaining to properties tours, or other information relevant to the organization being able to evaluate and track agent.)
It would have been obvious to modify the manner of organizing the rental process as taught in Zeqiri in view of Pompa to incorporate an admin Interface (8) preferably allows admin (9) to manage the system (1) residing on the cloud server (2), as taught in Spickes with the motivation of enabling admin users access to controlling the visibility of information to other users. (Spickes column 4 lines 14-42 and Spickes column 8 line 54 to column 9 line 5)
Zeqiri in view of Pompa and Spickes does not teach or suggest an agreement negotiation platform(1020),a notarization platform(1024) a guarantor services (1031), an insurance services (1026), an supplementary services platform and payment facilitation platform and cancellation and refund services(22)..
However Sher, which is directed to a real estate transaction assistance system teaches, an agreement negotiation platform(1020),a notarization platform(1024) a guarantor services (1031), an insurance services (1026), an supplementary services platform and payment facilitation platform and cancellation and refund services(22).. (Sher paragraph 2 the present disclosure relates to a decentralized cryptographic real estate transaction assistance system and method. More particularly, the disclosure relates to facilitating matching, engaging, contracting, and communicating between parties to a real estate and/or property rental transaction by a decentralized system. The present disclosure additionally relates to income protection, payment platforms, securitized rental transactions, and non-rental transactions. Sher paragraph 16 teaching an agent invests a lot of time and energy to consistently procure rental listings. Setting a listing appointment, driving to the listing appointment, spending two to three hours filling out the myriad of listing forms on paper, inputting the same information into the MLS, then the agent's community resource management (CRM), sending a copy of the listing to the broker, getting signature from the broker to then send signed copies to the landlord, then again more typing of the same information into online listings such as Craigslist, Zillow and other advertising websites. If a property listing does not exist in the MLS, the data input process can easily take half a day, even with the help of electronic document signing services because of the many forms and lengthy input procedure. Sher paragraph 29 teaching furthermore, a service/lease offer fee collected by the agent, brokerage, and/or office may be used to find offers and if the renter chooses to stop service, the unused portion of the service fee may be refunded according to a refund schedule, if renter did not default on their agreement with the agent/brokerage/office. This may provide a process that is kinder to the agent and incentivize the agent to continuously search for offers and get paid for the work they accomplish. Sher paragraph 35 teaching in another aspect, a guaranteed rental income protection may be provided to assure financial stability in the transactional relationship. The rules may include a threshold of eligibility for the guaranteed rental income protection. The guaranteed rental income protection may be selectively offered for the transactional relationship that meets the threshold of eligibility. The guaranteed rental income protection may be marketable as a financial instrument. GRIP may be used to spawn, leverage, and/or be used with insurance products for renters, landlords, and/or vendors. GRIP may use a monthly or other periodic premium, subscription, or other model to monetize and cover risk of issuing or offering GRIP. Additionally, GRIP may include limits, deductibles, and other stipulations, conditions, variables, or exceptions. Sher paragraph 40 teaching in another aspect, the platform components may include a landlord management component. The landlord management component may include a landlord financial aspect to receive payments from the renter. The landlord management component may include a maintenance request aspect to receive a maintenance request for the real property unit. The landlord management component may include a landlord-vendor management aspect to request service from a vendor, manage costs to the vendor, and log the interactions with the vendor. The landlord management component may include a tenant exchange to transact rights to a tenant of the transactional relationship. Additional renters, profiles, or search criteria may be filterable. Renter, landlord, property, unit, procedural, transactional, financial, personal, and other data may be stored in a database, such as included by a blockchain. The landlord management component may also include an aspect to reimburse a renter for expenses and/or to pay the renter for goods/services. The tenant exchange is discussed further in the detailed description of this disclosure. Sher paragraph 46 teaching The landlord direct component may include a renter community aspect to facilitate the interaction between at least the renter, additional renters, and the landlord, the interactions being storable in the database. The landlord direct component may communicate with the matching component to connect the renter having an acceptable likelihood of compatibility with the landlord. The information relating to the renter having the acceptable likelihood of compatibility may be storable in the database. The platform components may include a landlord management component. The landlord management component may include a landlord financial aspect to receive payments from the renter. The landlord management component may include a maintenance request aspect to receive a maintenance request for the real property unit. The landlord management component may include a landlord-vendor management aspect to request service from a vendor, manage costs to the vendor, and log the interactions with the vendor. The landlord management component may include a tenant exchange to transact rights to a tenant of the transactional relationship. A lease negotiation component may be included to assist a renter with uploading pictures of the unit for the community to view or compare against pictures of the unit provided by the landlord. Sher paragraphs 64-65 teaching various aspects of the present disclosure will now be described in detail, without limitation. In the following disclosure, a decentralized cryptographic real estate transaction assistance system and method will be discussed. Those of skill in the art will appreciate alternative labeling of the decentralized cryptographic real estate transaction assistance system and method as a rental platform, real estate and rental facilitation system, real estate, contract, behavior, and income backed financial system, transaction system, real estate focused social media and review system, property management software, real estate sales force and team management system, substantially full service renter and broker facilitation system, real estate vendor management system, substantially automated real estate transaction services platform, quotient-based transaction services and electronic registry, substantially full service landlord and tenant system, property rental matching and application platform, landlord management system, blockchain real estate platform, the invention, or other similar names. Similarly, those of skill in the art will appreciate alternative labeling of the decentralized cryptographic real estate transaction assistance system and method as a property rental facilitating process, real estate coordinating and communicating method, renter analysis and matching operation, lease offer finding services, income-based pre-approval services, method, operation, the invention, or other similar names. Skilled readers should not view the inclusion of any alternative labels as limiting in any way. Some common definitions will be used throughout this disclosure, which will control over all other sources. Real property unit, or alternatively unit, is a property available for rent or currently rented, for example, with vacancy, occupied, or not occupied. Transactional relationship is a rental agreement, lease, sublease, corporate lease, or optionally real property purchase agreement. To transact includes buying, selling, trading, transferring, and other transactional activities. Party includes at least renters and landlords. Renter is a party looking for a rental unit, not yet in a transactional relationship. Co-renter is a person affiliated with the renter also looking for a rental unit. Tenant is a person in a rental agreement with landlord for a unit, also referred to as a leasee. Co-tenant is a person affiliated with the tenant also in a rental agreement with the landlord for a unit. Roommate is a person that lives in a rental unit with the tenant, without consideration whether the roommate is also a co-tenant. Applicant is a renter applying to become a tenant. Co-applicant is a person affiliated with the applicant that is applying to become a co-tenant. Landlord owns at least one unit to be filled by a renter or has filled a unit with a tenant. Co-signer is a person jointly signing a document, often guaranteeing a financial responsibility. A guarantor is one that guarantees the transactional relationship. In applications relating the sale of real property, the landlord term may be substituted with seller and the renter term may be substituted with buyer. An agent may facilitate matching a renter with a landlord with intent that renter will become a tenant of the landlord's unit. Agents may be affiliated with a broker. Vendors may provide services to a landlord for the rental unit. User includes all parties and others that may use the platform, including renter, tenant, landlord, broker, agent, and other entity. Worked lead refers to a potential renter or applicant that has progressed through at least part of the registration and approval process, which may include qualifying for an available real property prior to submitting an application. Sher paragraph 91 teaching risk modeling provided by the platform may additionally expedite renter applicant rental process by providing rental income protection for landlords. The risk modeling may additionally provide a tenant exchange where lease contract transaction may be packaged and sold as short-term securities on global exchanges. Lease contract transactions may be valued by the tenant/renter score. This behavior-valued security may be traded on an exchange. The risk modeling may create renter-based credit system to underwrite financial instruments for renters, tenants, landlords, agents, vendors, and/or others. The risk modeling may additionally improve the odds for an enjoyable rental experience for the parties, benefiting from reduced time and cost of a rental process. Sher paragraphs 108-109 teaching an auto-criteria matching process may be provided to match the renter's search profile to any available rental unit based on the renter's provided search criteria. Once matched, the system may alert a renter/agent/landlord and may allow a renter and landlord to schedule a viewing or perform a virtual viewing. In similar instances, a managing broker acting as an agent to a renter/tenant/landlord is also considered an agent. Viewing may occur with or without the agent, at the property or virtually/remotely. Final negotiations for lease and tenancy terms may be between the renter and landlord. Viewing experiences may be rated by renter and landlord. Renters may invite participating and nonparticipating landlords to view the renter applicant's documents, verifications, credit report, renter score, renter profile, and GRIP if any offered. Once the renter and landlord are matched, the renter can invite landlords to view the renter's profile and landlord can consent to interview or reject the renter from the renter profile associated with the renter, optionally stating the reason for rejection or counter-offering to the renter. If the landlord consents to interview a renter, then the renter can interview with the landlord to view the unit. Landlords may communicate with renters through the platform to coordinate viewings, answer questions about the unit, or otherwise grow the relationship. The renter and landlord may also agree to sign a lease for the real property unit. If the renter and landlord agree to sign the lease, the landlord may offer a month-to-month lease, the landlord may produce a physical lease, or a renter and landlord can sign an electronic lease via the renter portal. Once lease is signed, the renter becomes a tenant and may join the renter community, if provided. If rejected, the renter may attempt to incentivize the landlord by counteroffering with, for example, prepayments of rent, extra security deposit, move-in fee, or GRIP policy. Sher paragraph 111 teaching the GRIP plan cost aspect will now be discussed in greater detail. A renter and/or landlord may be required to pay to use GRIP. Payments for GRIP may require an upfront and/or recurring fee to start, maintain, or otherwise continue policy coverage. Policy coverage may include a deductible portion due upon a policy claim. GRIP may include an insurance policy underwritten and/or backed financially. GRIP may be issued as an insurance product and/or as a corporate lease. GRIP may be created by a cooperative of renters, cooperative of landlords, cooperative of investors, and/or a combination of the above. GRIP payment may be fixed and/or variable, for example, based on a percentage of rent and/or total GRIP liability. GRIP may be issued for a definable coverage duration and/or total coverage amount. GRIP may be conditionally offered and conditionally provided/honored. GRIP may be bought, sold, leveraged, bundled, traded, transferred, factored, and/or transacted by other legal operations. Sher paragraph 132 teaching an aspect including the landlord dashboard will now be discussed. Landlords may view and manage renter leads, renter/tenant lists, rental property, renter search criteria, renter/tenant search criteria, real property unit availability, showing calendar, maintenance calendar, lease start/end calendar, rent payment calendar, move-in/out calendar, and other data via the landlord dashboard. Sher paragraphs 136 teaching lease negotiation and signing aspects will now be discussed. The parties may negotiate and sign the proposed terms of the transactional relationship electronically through a structured application process before a physical or electronic rental agreement or lease is signed. Once the terms are agreed, the parties may sign the lease, beginning the transactional relationship. Rental listing data may be accessed, populated, modified, and analyzed to create a foundation for negotiation. A proposed lease agreement may be populated with listing data once a party decides to send an offer to the other party. Lease contracts may also be included in a block of a blockchain and operated as a smart contract to further automate and assist the landlord and tenant with management of the lease agreement, rights, and responsibilities stated in the lease, without limitation. In an example lease negotiation and signing, a renter may click to apply for a unit on the platform. Existing listing data such as availability/lease start date, rent amount, pet policy, any utilities included in the cost of rent, amount of security deposit/move-in fee/pre-paid rent/GRIP, and/or terms such as inclusions, conditions, restrictions, and/or other terms written into the listing may populate in the electronically fillable lease. Once the draft lease is filled, the sender sends the offer to the receiver. Sender and receiver are interchangeable, depending on which party is sending the lease for review and which party is receiving. In this digital lease, practically every data field may be editable directly in the attachment or view of a message provided by the platform. Third party signing services or APIs may not be necessary. The lease may substantially automatically save all changes made to it.)
It would have been obvious to modify the manner of organizing the rental process as taught in Zeqiri in view of Pompa and Spickes to incorporate an agreement negotiation platform(1020),a notarization platform(1024) a guarantor services (1031), an insurance services (1026), an supplementary services platform and payment facilitation platform and cancellation and refund services(22).. as taught in Sher with the motivation of incorporating various services needed for facilitating the execution of a rental transaction and upkeep of the property. (Sher paragraphs 2, 29, 40, 46, 65, and 111).
Referring to claim 2,
Pompa further teaches wherein plurality of Database server (3) includes a transaction database (3.1), a listing database (3.2), an user Database (3.3), a property Database (3.4) and an action database (3.5). (Pompa paragraph 27 teaching subsequently, at step 104, changes to existing match profiles, and new match profiles are detected. Profile changes may reflect changes to a customer's property search preferences, in some cases, indicating changes in a customer's preferred property location, size, price, etc. A search can be performed based on the provided customer preferences and updated user profile information supplied by database 103 (step 106). In particular, user/customer profiles may be used to match one or more parameters relating to property listings that are stored in property search index database 105. Pompa paragraphs 47-48 teaching in some aspects, backend operations 356 are performed on one or more databases. In some examples, the backend operations 356 facilitate in the transactional operations within the private portion 350 of the property matching portion. In some examples, transactional operations may include transformation and enrichment of additional information that can be used in the property matching. The additional information can be used to identify points of interest or additional details that could be used to enrich the property listings so that the matches can be better made based on customer preference. In some aspects, the dynamo database 358 is used to store entries for each property list that the property matching system currently has available. These listings can be obtained from various different sources (e.g., MLS) and can be updated at various time intervals. The information stored may pertain only to the property itself. In some examples, if the user is interested in other details about the property that are not property-specific, these entries may need to be further enriched in order to be relevant based on the customer preferences related to non property-specific details. In some examples, different APIs 360, 362, and 364 can be used to identify different types of information that may be relevant to the property of interest depending on the customer preference but are not specific to the property itself. These types of information can be used to enrich the entries stored within the database 358 and subsequently stored in the elastic search database 366 (described below).
It would have been obvious to modify the manner of organizing the rental process as taught in Zeqiri in view of Spickes and Sher to incorporate wherein plurality of Database server (3) includes a transaction database (3.1), a listing database (3.2), an user Database (3.3), a property Database (3.4) and an action database (3.5). as taught in Pompa with the motivation of leveraging various databases for assisting in matching a user to a property. (Pompa paragraphs 47-48).
Referring to claim 3,
Zeqiri further teaches wherein the third party application programming interface apps (10) allows user to access their functionality via application process and use it on system (1). (Zeqiri paragraphs 36-37 teaching in one embodiment, electronic information exchange agent 12 includes an API accessed by users 20-24. Users 20-24 enter data directly using the API, or through websites and applications connected to electronic information exchange agent 12 via the API. An API facilitates the request and retrieval of information on behalf of a software program or application. An API is a set of commands, functions, and protocols, which programmers or developers use when building software for a specific operating system or application. An API allows programmers to use predefined functions to interact with an external application or computer system. An API allows a software application to communicate with other applications running on a remote server over the internet using a series of API calls. With APIs, calls back and forth between applications are managed through web services.)
Referring to claim 4,
Pompa further teaches wherein meeting management platform (1013) includes calendar management, meeting scheduler and reminders schedulers. (Pompa paragraph 117 through the chat component, information about times and dates can be extracted and used by the property matching system to automatically suggest and schedule appointments based on the availability of each party via the appointment component. Each of the parties may have previously provided their availability into the appointments component or may have synchronized their own personal calendar with the property matching system. With the availability information, if dates and times for suggested meetings are being provided by the buyer for possible tours (with the realtor) or signing of necessary paperwork (with the mortgage broker), the appointments component can review the availability for the corresponding parties and suggest times that can be approved via chat, email or text. The appointment component can then provide an invitation to each of the corresponding parties so that the event (e.g. house tour, in-person consultation) can be accepted into their respective calendars. In some embodiments, the appointments component may also be capable of automatically updating the corresponding parties' calendars with the scheduled appointment if no other prior events were scheduled during the same time period. Pompa paragraph 123 teaching with respect to FIG. 9D, user interface 930 illustrates how various tour requests and appointments can be automatically generated and stored on a realtor's calendar. In response to a tour request, the appointment component can generate a reminder and illustrate it in the realtor calendar. In this way, the realtor can have the property matching system automatically manage the realtor's schedule with what date and time the tours are requested and with which buyer the tours are scheduled by. This allows the realtor to minimize double booking and streamline the scheduling process based on the realtor's available.)
It would have been obvious to modify the manner of organizing the rental process as taught in Zeqiri in view of Spickes and Sher to incorporate wherein meeting management platform (1013) includes calendar management, meeting scheduler and reminders schedulers as taught in Pompa with the motivation of assisting users in arranging and remembering their appointments. (Pompa paragraph 117 and 123)
Referring to claim 5,
Sher further teaches wherein the supplementary services (1032) platform includes services like electricity, plumbing, Tiffin services and the like. (Sher paragraph 40 teaching in another aspect, the platform components may include a landlord management component. The landlord management component may include a landlord financial aspect to receive payments from the renter. The landlord management component may include a maintenance request aspect to receive a maintenance request for the real property unit. The landlord management component may include a landlord-vendor management aspect to request service from a vendor, manage costs to the vendor, and log the interactions with the vendor. The landlord management component may include a tenant exchange to transact rights to a tenant of the transactional relationship.)
It would have been obvious to modify the manner of organizing the rental process as taught in Zeqiri in view of Pompa and Spickes to incorporate wherein the supplementary services (1032) platform includes services like electricity, plumbing, Tiffin services and the like as taught in Sher with the motivation of facilitating the response to maintenance requests from renters. (Sher paragraph 40)
Referring to claim 6,
Pompa further teaches wherein the said functional components are designed with Al (Artificial Intelligence) and machine learning tools. (Pompa paragraphs 22-23 teaching in some aspects, property recommendations are made using a machine learning (ML) model that can be trained/tuned based on user selections and/or other criteria. Although various types of machine learning models may be deployed to identify matchings between users and property listings, in some aspects, one or more ML based classification algorithms can be used. Such classifiers can include, but are not limited to: a Multinomial Naive Bayes classifier, a Bernoulli Naive Bayes classifier, a Perceptron classifier, a Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) Classifier, and/or a Passive Aggressive Classifier, or the like. Additionally, the ML models can be configured to perform various types of regression, in some cases, using one or more various regression algorithms, including but not limited to: a Stochastic Gradient Descent Regressor, and/or a Passive Aggressive Regressor, etc. In practice, user preference data is ingested into a listing system and exposed to a matching algorithm (e.g., a ML based classifier) that is configured to return listings to the user in an order of relevance. Pompa paragraph 62 teaching with respect to FIG. 5A, steps 502-510 pertain to a buyer interacting with the property matching system. In step 502, the buyer makes an offer on property using the property matching system. An offer processing component can process the buyer's offer and send that offer to the AI components that will match the buyer's profile with the property in step 504. In step 506, the buyer's information (e.g., demographic information) can be associated with a match loader component that matches the user profile with the property. In some examples, a match can be modeled via a graph so that it can be used for machine learning training. In some examples, the graph can be stored within a properties graph database that stores match profiles of different buyers associated with the properties. In step 508, the graph database can be queried for any new relationships, in some cases based on a customer preference, based on the stored graphs pertaining to different buyer profiles. These graphs can be provided to the machine learning network in step 510 to train the machine learning network on how to identify matches between the properties and demographic information related to the buyer of the property.)
It would have been obvious to modify the manner of organizing the rental process as taught in Zeqiri in view of Spickes and Sher to incorporate wherein the said functional components are designed with Al (Artificial Intelligence) and machine learning tools as taught in Pompa with the motivation of facilitating the identification of properties of interest based on user’s preferences. (Pompa paragraphs 22-23 and 62)
Claims 14-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zeqiri (US 20190114726) and Godar (US 20070156429).
Referring to claim 14,
The Examiner views that the preamble serves as providing the intended use of the system and therefore is not given meaningful patentable weight for examination purposes
Zeqiri teaches:
A method for providing versatile solutions to rental platform with artificial intelligence for short term comprising:(a) Registering and logging on login/registration platform into the system (1) by user, (Zeqiri paragraph 40 teaching to interact with electronic information exchange agent 12, user 20-24 creates an account and profile with the information exchange agent. Full access requires completion of a registration process. User 20-24 accesses webpage 100 operated by information exchange agent 12 on electronic information exchange platform 28 and provides data to complete the registration and activation process, as shown in FIG. 5. Zeqiri paragraph 42 teaching the user's profile is stored and maintained within database 14. User 20-24 can access and update his or her profile or interact with electronic information exchange agent 12. Manage users 122 allows users 20-24 to add, modify, and delete users and profile information with webpage 100. Users 20-24 can change passwords, set notification preferences, communicate directly with information exchange agent 12, and assign users to properties. The user's profile and personal data remains secure and, where appropriate, confidential within electronic information exchange agent 12.)
(b) Adding property into property database by host, (Zeqiri paragraph 27 teaching user 20 is a listing agent or owner with rental property to offer for lease. Likewise, user 22 and 24 are each independent listing agents or owners with rental property to offer for lease. User 26 is a renter in need of a rental property to lease. Users 20-24 are considered competitors among themselves, each with property that may be of interest to user 26. Electronic information exchange agent 12 functions as an organizer and facilitator between users 20-24 to collect, organize, analyze, disperse, exchange, share, and report rental property information provided by users 20-24 using database 14 on electronic information exchange platform 28 executing on computer system 10. User 26 may also make use of the rental property information, as provided by users 20-24, on electronic information exchange platform 28. Zeqiri paragraph 43 teaching webpage 140 in FIG. 7 illustrates implementation of manage properties 124. To add a specific property, user 20 enters rental data and information for the property. Property name is provided in block 142, property address in block 144, unit number in block 146, property description in block 148, floorplan in block 150, features in block 152, amenities in block 154, pricing in block 156, incentives in block 158, lease terms in block 160, traffic in block 162, leases in block 164, lease percentage in block 166, and occupancy in block 168… User 20 clicks on add button 170 to add the property information into fields 32-54 of data structure 30 in database 14 of electronic information exchange platform 28. User 20 enters multiple properties from multiple locations into fields 32-54 of data structure 30 in database 14 of electronic information exchange platform 28 using webpage 140. User 20 can set up floorplan templates to standardize and simplify data entry. A template would automatically add features, amenities, pricing, incentives, lease terms, and other property information common to the floorplan. User 20 can update the property information with update button 172, or delete the property information with delete button 174. Users 22 and 24 can also add, update, and delete property information using webpage 140.)
(c) Managing seasonal pricing for property by host, (Zeqiri paragraph 43 teaching pricing field 42 includes pricing for a particular unit within the property inventory. Incentives field 44 includes incentives for one or more units within the property inventory. Incentives include free or reduced rental pricing for limited time during long-term lease, offer for fresh paint, offer to upgrade flooring, option to change units when a more desirable unit becomes available, and other discounts. Leasing terms field 46 includes terms and conditions of the lease, such as length of lease, renewal options, security deposit, termination, subleasing, premises liability, maintenance and repairs, pets, and offensive behavior. Traffic field 48 includes occurrence, frequency, date, and times of prospective tenants stopping by, touring, or otherwise inquiring about one or more units within the property inventory. Leases field 50 includes a number of leases executed within a time period. Lease percentage field 52 includes a percentage of units leased. Occupancy field 54 includes a percentage of units within all or a portion of the property inventory that are occupied.)
(d) Listing of property into system from property database, (Zeqiri paragraph 43 teaching user 20 clicks on add button 170 to add the property information into fields 32-54 of data structure 30 in database 14 of electronic information exchange platform 28. User 20 enters multiple properties from multiple locations into fields 32-54 of data structure 30 in database 14 of electronic information exchange platform 28 using webpage 140. User 20 can set up floorplan templates to standardize and simplify data entry. A template would automatically add features, amenities, pricing, incentives, lease terms, and other property information common to the floorplan. User 20 can update the property information with update button 172, or delete the property information with delete button 174. Users 22 and 24 can also add, update, and delete property information using webpage 140.)
Zeqiri does not teach or suggest (e) Cancellation and refund services for users.
However Godar, which is directed to online transactions related to vacation properties teaches (e) Cancellation and refund services for users. (Godar paragraph 40 teaching after the booking engine generates the Notification message (step 40), the owner may still decide, for any reason and at any time after the receipt of the Notification e-mail, that the qualified rentor is not (or no longer) qualified to rent the property, the owner can cancel, void or rescind the transaction (step 42). Whether or not a refund is in order will depend upon the timing and/or the reason for cancellation. Likewise, the qualified rentor, for any reason and at any time after the receipt of an approval Status message (Step 36), may cancel, void or rescind the transaction (Step 42). Whether or not the rentor will receive a refund will also depend on the reason and/or the timing of the cancellation. Any decision to cancel or rescind the transaction must be conveyed to the booking engine via the website. Upon cancellation of any transaction, the booking engine will generate a Cancellation message to both the owner and the rentor, notifying them of the cancellation (Step 44).)
It would have been obvious to modify the manner of organizing the rental process as taught in Zeqiri to incorporate (e) Cancellation and refund services for users as taught in Godar with the motivation of enabling users to cancel bookings and receive a refund upon approval. (Godar paragraph 40)
Referring to claim 15,
Godar further teaches wherein in step (b) user adds the available dates and prices for rooms in calendar. (Godar paragraph 39 teaching as shown in FIG. 2, the system 10 handles the entire rental process from the prospective rentor's position. The transaction proceeds as follows through a number of sequential steps. First the owner subscribes to the website and provides rental property details for each Listing of their vacation rental properties, including a rental schedule with dates and offered rates, to be included in the owner database (Step 30). Next, a prospective rentor accesses the website and searches for and selects at least one Listing within the owner database (Step 31). The booking engine then solicits and receives information from the prospective rentor regarding a selected Listing (Step 32), and then processes the submitted information, including the completed application form, and determines whether the prospective rentor is a qualified rentor (Step 34). The booking engine thereafter generates a Status message to the prospective rentor at the website interface their status (Step 36). Upon approval, the booking engine automatically executes a booking of the property associate with the selected Listing for the dates requested, and according to the terms and conditions of the contract (Step 3). Godar paragraph 97 teaching after a unit is booked, the system tracks the dates booked and updates the calendar automatically to display the booking. If a lease is cancelled the calendar will reflect that time frame being open. The system can include a pre-set list of electronic messages, or e-mails, so the owner and rentor may stay in communication throughout the booking process. As a non-limiting example, the system can generate the Status message (Step 36) as an e-mail, or the Notification e-mail (Step 40), both described above.)
It would have been obvious to modify the manner of organizing the rental process as taught in Zeqiri to incorporate wherein in step (b) user adds the available dates and prices for rooms in calendar as taught in Godar with the motivation of enabling users create available rentals and allow users to view the rental’s availability in a calendar. (Godar paragraphs 39 and 97)
Referring to claim 16,
Zeqiri further teaches wherein step (b) host can add different prices for different seasons. (Zeqiri paragraph 43 teaching pricing field 42 includes pricing for a particular unit within the property inventory. Incentives field 44 includes incentives for one or more units within the property inventory. Incentives include free or reduced rental pricing for limited time during long-term lease, offer for fresh paint, offer to upgrade flooring, option to change units when a more desirable unit becomes available, and other discounts. Leasing terms field 46 includes terms and conditions of the lease, such as length of lease, renewal options, security deposit, termination, subleasing, premises liability, maintenance and repairs, pets, and offensive behavior. Traffic field 48 includes occurrence, frequency, date, and times of prospective tenants stopping by, touring, or otherwise inquiring about one or more units within the property inventory. Leases field 50 includes a number of leases executed within a time period. Lease percentage field 52 includes a percentage of units leased. Occupancy field 54 includes a percentage of units within all or a portion of the property inventory that are occupied.)
Referring to claim 17,
Godar further teaches wherein step (d) guest selects the property from property listing platform. (Godar paragraph 39 teaching first the owner subscribes to the website and provides rental property details for each Listing of their vacation rental properties, including a rental schedule with dates and offered rates, to be included in the owner database (Step 30). Next, a prospective rentor accesses the website and searches for and selects at least one Listing within the owner database (Step 31).)
It would have been obvious to modify the manner of organizing the rental process as taught in Zeqiri to incorporate wherein step (d) guest selects the property from property listing platform as taught in Godar with the motivation of enabling user to search and book rentals of interest. (Godar paragraph 39)
Referring to claim 18,
Godar further teaches wherein step (e), guest can customize their cancellation policy on system. (Godar paragraph 39 teaching after the booking engine generates the Notification message (step 40), the owner may still decide, for any reason and at any time after the receipt of the Notification e-mail, that the qualified rentor is not (or no longer) qualified to rent the property, the owner can cancel, void or rescind the transaction (step 42). Whether or not a refund is in order will depend upon the timing and/or the reason for cancellation. Likewise, the qualified rentor, for any reason and at any time after the receipt of an approval Status message (Step 36), may cancel, void or rescind the transaction (Step 42). Whether or not the rentor will receive a refund will also depend on the reason and/or the timing of the cancellation. Any decision to cancel or rescind the transaction must be conveyed to the booking engine via the website. Upon cancellation of any transaction, the booking engine will generate a Cancellation message to both the owner and the rentor, notifying them of the cancellation (Step 44).)
It would have been obvious to modify the manner of organizing the rental process as taught in Zeqiri to incorporate wherein step (e), guest can customize their cancellation policy on system. as taught in Godar with the motivation of enabling guests to providing their reason for cancellation so that a determination that a refund is warranted can me made. (Godar paragraph 39)
No Prior Art Applied
The prior art of record fails to at least explicitly disclose or teach at least the following limitations of the independent claims: (b) Verifying landlord profile(1002) via third party verification application programming interface (1003 (n) Searching for a lawyer (1022) on notarization platform into database by system (1) and paying the fees for lawyer(1023), (o) Verifying and notarizing the documents via lawyer meeting manager(1024),(p) Notifying the landlord and tenant when lawyer verify and notarize the documents.
The other closest prior art other than that already cited is as follows.
Ward (US 20110015954) – directed to automated vacation rental management teaches.
Ward paragraphs 9-10 teaching the present invention provides an automated management website configured to enable private and small business owners of homes, condos, and multi-unit properties to book to book their properties on-line. The system includes a private web page for each specific owner, and automated payment with sites such as Paypal, Authorize.net, etc. that triggers, upon approval, automated e-mail, texting or other notification to entities specified by the owner, such as the owner's email address, management, maid service. Thus an auto confirmation of the transaction is sent to the owner to streamline time for owners. The system allows for automated choice of time related pricing and length of stay minimums per choice of each individual manager or owner of the property. The system includes a website page that has a description of property with the pictures and automated bill pay and calendar that is also automated and linked to bookings, wherein the webpage streamlines the process for the renter and owner and makes transaction automated to save time. An aspect of the present invention is a system for automatic updating of a rental property listing, comprising: a server comprising a database configured to store one or more data fields relating to the property listing; software executable on said server for carrying out the steps of: providing a graphical user interface for the property listing, the graphical user interface containing data populated from one or more data fields in said database; wherein the graphical user interface comprises a calendar represented by a plurality of visual entities, each of said visual entities corresponding to a date on said calendar; automatically receiving notification regarding a payment received for booking a rental date with respect to at least one of said visual entities; and automatically updating a characteristic of said visual entity based on said notification; wherein said characteristic indicates that the property listing is unavailable for future booking on a date related to said visual entity. Ward paragraph 46 teaching the data entry screen 100 shown in FIG. 4, is illustrated for exemplary purposes only, and may include additional entry fields or may be one of a number of screens that allow the owner to sculpt their site listing to look and have functionality tailored to their preferences. For example, the property owner 20 may be directed to add contact/communication information (e.g. email, cell phone number, etc.) for automatic e-mail email generation (or text generation via SMS etc.) upon booking. Contact information may be provided for client (property owner itself), property manager, house keeping, etc. For example, one can add an email address so that an automated notification is sent to the cleaners of the property to notify them when the property is booked and needs to be cleaned. Correspondingly, each email address provided will receive an email detailing when a property has been booked and the arrival and departure dates for each booking. Ward paragraphs 52-53 teaching the application 16 further comprises an interactive calendar module 84 that allows the owners 20 to assign attributes (e.g. rates, minimum booking days, etc.) to individual calendar dates, and allows users 30 to select dates on the output property calendar for searching, automated booking and updating. It is appreciated that the calendar module 84 may be integrated with data entry 80 and page editing 82 modules, and at the very least is interactive with other modules, e.g. data entry 80, page editing 82, and search query 86. Much like the data entry page 100, the property owner 20, when building or updating their listing, may then be directed to a set of fields for entering calendar-based pricing, e.g. management of low, medium, and high season pricing schemes, as well as minimum booking days and other details of importance to the property owner. The website may have preset variable pricing schemes, e.g. Low, Med, High, Holiday, etc. season pricing that may also be limited to minimum stay periods. For example, if summer time is a one week minimum stay do to high traffic at this period owner can pick this drop down for a one month or multi-month period. The owner 20 may also pick numerous price ranges that can be put into weekly or monthly periods that can begin and end for seasonal pricing. The system 10 may also include blocking out a period of time that the property is being used by the owner for personal or property management purposes.
While the prior art teach concepts related organizing the rental of a property the prior art fails to disclose or teach the verifying profiles using a third party verification API or searching for a lawyer and notifying the landlord and tenant when the lawyer notarizes as claimed by Applicant.
Therefore, there is no current art rejection applied for claims 7-13; however, the examiner notes the outstanding claim rejection under 35 USC § 101 for claims 7-13. Therefore, the claims are not indicated as allowable at this time.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Cameron et al. (US 20220284524) – directed to real estate registry and monitoring.
O’brien et al. (US 20140122346) – directed to leasing space.
Langere (US 20150088729) – directed to online property reservation service provider for reserving properties for lease.
Adhav et al. (US Patent No. 11,798,068) – directed to a lease management system.
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/M.J.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3629 /SARAH M MONFELDT/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3629