Detailed Action
Status of Claims
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This Action is in reply to the Preliminary Amendment filed on 02/05/2025. Claims 45-63 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDS filed 8/21/2024 was received and has been considered.
Claim Objections
Claim 45 is objected to for the following informality: “the e system” should read “the system.” Appropriate correction is required.
Statutory Double Patenting
A rejection based on double patenting of the “same invention” type finds its support in the language of 35 U.S.C. 101 which states that “whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process... may obtain a patent therefor...” (Emphasis added). Thus, the term “same invention,” in this context, means an invention drawn to identical subject matter. See Miller v. Eagle Mfg. Co., 151 U.S. 186 (1894); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Ockert, 245 F.2d 467, 114 USPQ 330 (CCPA 1957).
A statutory type (35 U.S.C. 101) double patenting rejection can be overcome by canceling or amending the claims that are directed to the same invention so they are no longer coextensive in scope. The filing of a terminal disclaimer cannot overcome a double patenting rejection based upon 35 U.S.C. 101.
Claims 45-63 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as claiming the same invention as that of claims 1-19 of US Patent US12106358B1, hereinafter ‘358. This is a statutory double patenting rejection.
Instant Claim 45
‘358 Claim 1
A system for generating a unified marketplace, the system comprising: a system interface configured to electronically communicate with one or more unified marketplace systems using a standardized data model; a first database configured to store, in a format compatible with the standardized data model, data associated with a plurality of items listed for sale by a plurality of item dealers, wherein each of the plurality of items listed for sale comprises a combination of attributes;
An … system for … a unified marketplace for ... items, the … system comprising …: a …system interface configured to electronically communicate with one or more unified marketplace systems using a standardized data model;
a … database configured to store, in a format compatible with the standardized data model, data associated with a plurality of … items listed for sale by a plurality of … item dealers,
wherein each of the plurality of .. items listed for sale comprises a ... combination of attributes,
a second database configured to store mappings that define translations between the standardized data model and one or more marketplace-specific data formats for each of a plurality of marketplace systems, wherein the plurality of marketplace systems comprises a plurality of direct item dealer marketplace systems and a plurality of indirect item dealer marketplace systems;
a … database configured to store mappings that define translations between the standardized data model and one or more … marketplace-specific data formats for each of a plurality of … marketplace systems,
wherein the plurality of … marketplace systems comprises a plurality of direct … item dealer marketplace systems and a plurality of indirect … item dealer marketplace systems;
a marketplace system interface configured to communicate over a computer network with each of the plurality of marketplace systems in order to at least:
receive a plurality of electronic feeds each comprising inventory data related to at least a portion of the plurality of items listed for sale by the plurality of item dealers, wherein at least some of the plurality of electronic feeds comprise inventory data encoded differently than at least some other of the plurality of electronic feeds; and transmit and receive data to and from each marketplace system in a format compatible with the one or more marketplace-specific data formats;
a … marketplace system interface configured to communicate over a computer network with each of the plurality of … marketplace systems in order to at least: receive a plurality of electronic feeds each comprising …inventory data related to at least a portion of the plurality of … items listed for sale by the plurality of … item dealers, wherein at least some of the plurality of electronic feeds comprise … inventory data encoded differently than at least some other of the plurality of electronic feeds; and transmit and receive data to and from each … marketplace system in a format compatible with … one or more … marketplace-specific data formats
a normalization engine configured to: translate the inventory data of the received plurality of electronic feeds into data compliant with the standardized data model, wherein each translation uses a mapping stored in the second database and associated with a marketplace-specific data format; store the translated inventory data in the first database; and translate data received from and to be sent to the plurality of marketplace systems, between data compliant with the standardized data model and data compliant with a marketplace-specific data format for each marketplace system, wherein each translation uses a mapping stored in the second database and associated with a marketplace-specific data format,
a normalization engine configured to: translate the … inventory data of the received plurality of electronic feeds into data compliant with the standardized data model, wherein each translation uses a mapping stored in the … database and associated with a … marketplace-specific data format; store the translated … inventory data in the … database; and translate data received from and to be sent to the plurality of … marketplace systems, between data compliant with the standardized data model and data compliant with a … marketplace-specific data format for each … marketplace system …, wherein each translation uses a mapping stored in the … database and associated with a … marketplace-specific data format,
wherein the [] system is further configured to automatically de-duplicate the translated inventory data, wherein the de-duplication comprises at least: detecting, based on data received in the plurality of electronic feeds, that a first direct item dealer associated with a first direct item dealer marketplace system has transferred a first item to a second direct item dealer associated with a second direct item dealer marketplace system; and updating the stored translated inventory data such that data transmitted to the one or more unified marketplace systems will enable facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the first item through the second direct item dealer marketplace system and not through the first direct item dealer marketplace system;
wherein the … system is further configured to automatically de-duplicate the translated … inventory, wherein the de-duplication comprises at least: detecting, based on data received in the plurality of electronic feeds, that a first direct … item dealer associated with a first direct … item dealer marketplace system has transferred a first … item to a second direct … item dealer associated with a second direct … item dealer marketplace system; and updating the stored translated … inventory data such that data transmitted to the one or more unified marketplace systems will enable facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the first … item through the second direct … item dealer marketplace system and not through the first direct … item dealer marketplace system;
wherein the de-duplication further comprises at least: detecting, based on data received in the plurality of electronic feeds, that a first indirect item dealer associated with a first indirect item dealer marketplace system has sold a second item that is offered for sale through multiple indirect item dealer marketplace systems; and updating the stored translated inventory data such that data transmitted to the one or more unified marketplace systems will not enable facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the second item through any of the multiple indirect item dealer marketplace systems; and
wherein the de-duplication further comprises at least:
detecting, based on data received in the plurality of electronic feeds, that a first indirect … item dealer associated with a first indirect … item dealer marketplace system has sold a second … item that is offered for sale through multiple indirect … item dealer marketplace systems; and updating the stored translated … inventory data such that data transmitted to the one or more unified marketplace systems will not enable facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the second … item through any of the multiple indirect … item dealer marketplace systems; and
a transaction processing engine configured to: receive, from the one or more unified marketplace systems through the system interface, acquisition request data in a format compatible with the standardized data model, the acquisition request data indicative of a request by the user to acquire an acquisition candidate item, wherein the acquisition candidate item is associated with one of the plurality of marketplace systems; translate, using the normalization engine, at least a portion of the acquisition request data from the format compatible with the standardized data model to a format compatible with the one of the plurality of marketplace systems; and transmit, to the one of the plurality of marketplace systems through the marketplace system interface, the translated at least a portion of the acquisition request data.
a transaction processing engine configured to:
…receive, from the one or more unified marketplace systems through the … system interface, acquisition request data in a format compatible with the standardized data model, the acquisition request data indicative of a request by the user to acquire the acquisition candidate ... item, wherein the acquisition candidate ... item is associated with one of the plurality of … marketplace systems; translate, using the normalization engine, at least a portion of the acquisition request data from the format compatible with the standardized data model to a format compatible with the one of the plurality of … marketplace systems; and transmit, to the one of the plurality of … marketplace systems through the … marketplace system interface, the translated at least a portion of the acquisition request data
Instant Claim 46
‘358 Claim 2
The system of Claim 45, wherein at least one of the plurality of marketplace systems is controlled by a third party.
The ... system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of ... item dealer marketplace systems is controlled by a third party.
Instant Claim 47
‘358 Claim 3
The system of Claim 45, further comprising: at least one of the one or more unified marketplace systems, wherein the at least one of the one or more unified marketplace systems is configured to present an interactive graphical user interface that facilitates the searching for and selection of the acquisition candidate item.
The ... system of claim 1, further comprising:
at least one of the one or more unified marketplace systems, wherein the at least one of the one or more unified marketplace systems is configured to present an interactive graphical user interface that facilitates the searching for and selection of the acquisition candidate ... item.
Instant Claim 48
‘358 Claim 4
The system of Claim 45, wherein the system interface is configured to communicate over a computer network with at least some of the one or more unified marketplace systems.
The ... system of claim 1, wherein the unified marketplace system interface is configured to communicate over a computer network with at least some of the one or more unified marketplace systems.
Instant Claim 49
‘358 Claim 5
The system of Claim 45, wherein at least one of the one or more unified marketplace systems is controlled by a third party.
The ... system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more unified marketplace systems is controlled by a third party.
Instant Claim 50
‘358 Claim 6
The system of Claim 45, wherein system is further configured to communicate over a computer network with one or more third party service provider systems, to facilitate inclusion of one or more third party services in the acquisition transaction of the acquisition candidate item.
The ... system of claim 1, wherein the ... system is further configured to communicate over a computer network with one or more third party service provider systems, to facilitate inclusion of one or more third party services in the acquisition transaction of the acquisition candidate item.
Instant Claim 51
‘358 Claim 7
The system of Claim 50, wherein the one or more third party services comprises one or more of: a warranty service, an insurance service, or a financing service.
The ... system of claim 6, wherein the one or more third party services comprises one or more of: a warranty service, an insurance service, or a financing service.
Instant Claim 52
‘358 Claim 8
The system of Claim 45, wherein the plurality of items listed for sale comprises at least one of the following types of items: vehicles, used vehicles, or real estate.
The ... system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of ... items listed for sale comprises at least one of the following types of items: vehicles, used vehicles, or real estate.
Instant Claim 53
‘358 Claim 9
The system of Claim 45, wherein the standardized data model includes a plurality of categories of data, the plurality of categories including at least dealer data, acquirer data, and item data.
The ... system of claim 1, wherein the standardized data model includes a plurality of categories of data, the plurality of categories including at least dealer data, acquirer data, and ... item data.
Instant Claim 54
‘358 Claim 10
The system of Claim 45, wherein the translating of the inventory data of the received plurality of electronic feeds into data compliant with the standardized data model comprises at least: parsing a plurality of fields of data from an electronic feed; and separating at least some of the parsed data from a single field into multiple fields of the standardized data model.
The ... system of claim 1, wherein the translating of the ... inventory data of the received plurality of electronic feeds into data compliant with the standardized data model comprises at least: parsing a plurality of fields of data from an electronic feed; and separating at least some of the parsed data from a single field into multiple fields of the standardized data model.
Instant Claim 55
‘358 Claim 11
The system of Claim 45, wherein the second database is configured to store at least two different mappings for at least some of the plurality of marketplace systems, the at least two different mappings comprising a first mapping associated with electronic feed data, and a second mapping associated with facilitating acquisition transactions.
The ... system of claim 1, wherein the dealer mappings database is configured to store at least two different mappings for at least some of the plurality of ... item dealer marketplace systems, the at least two different mappings comprising a first mapping associated with electronic feed data, and a second mapping associated with facilitating acquisition transactions.
Instant Claim 56
‘358 Claim 12
The system of Claim 45, wherein the different encoding of the at least some of the plurality of electronic feeds comprises at least one of the following: delimiting data fields differently, ordering data fields differently, using a different number of data fields to provide a same amount of data.
The ... system of claim 1, wherein the different encoding of the at least some of the plurality of electronic feeds comprises at least one of the following: delimiting data fields differently, ordering data fields differently, using a different number of data fields to provide a same amount of data.
Instant Claim 57
‘358 Claim 13
A computer-implemented method for generating a unified marketplace, the computer-implemented method comprising: storing, in a first database, mappings that define translations between a standardized data model and one or more marketplace-specific data formats for each of a plurality of marketplace systems, wherein the plurality of marketplace systems comprises a plurality of direct item dealer marketplace systems and a plurality of indirect item dealer marketplace systems;
A computer-implemented method for … a unified marketplace for ... items, the computer-implemented method comprising: storing, in a dealer mappings database, mappings that define translations between a standardized data model and one or more dealer marketplace-specific data formats for each of a plurality of ... item dealer marketplace systems,
wherein the plurality of ... item dealer marketplace systems comprises a plurality of direct ... item dealer marketplace systems and a plurality of indirect ... item dealer marketplace systems;
receiving, by a computer system over a computer network, from the plurality of marketplace systems, a plurality of electronic feeds each comprising inventory data related to at least a portion of a plurality of items listed for sale by a plurality of dealers, wherein each of the plurality of items listed for sale comprises a combination of attributes, the attributes comprising one or more of feature attributes, condition attributes, or location attributes, wherein at least some of the plurality of electronic feeds comprise inventory data encoded differently than at least some other of the plurality of electronic feeds;
receiving, by a computer system over a computer network, from the plurality of ... item dealer marketplace systems, a plurality of electronic feeds each comprising ... inventory data related to at least a portion of a plurality of ... items listed for sale by a plurality of ... item dealers, wherein each of the plurality of ... items listed for sale comprises a ... combination of attributes, the attributes comprising one or more of feature attributes, condition attributes, or location attributes, wherein at least some of the plurality of electronic feeds comprise ... inventory data encoded differently than at least some other of the plurality of electronic feeds;
translating, by the computer system, the inventory data of the received plurality of electronic feeds into data compliant with the standardized data model, wherein each translation uses a mapping stored in the first database and associated with a marketplace- specific data format;
translating, by the computer system, the ... inventory data of the received plurality of electronic feeds into data compliant with the standardized data model, wherein each translation uses a mapping stored in the dealer mappings database and associated with a dealer marketplace-specific data format;
storing, in a second database, the translated inventory data;
storing, in a ... inventory database, the translated ... inventory data;
automatically de-duplicating the translated inventory data, wherein the de-duplication comprises at least: detecting, by the computer system, based on data received in the plurality of electronic feeds, that a first dealer associated with a first direct item dealer marketplace system has transferred a first item to a second dealer associated with a second direct item dealer marketplace system; and updating, by the computer system, the stored translated inventory data such that data transmitted to the one or more unified marketplace systems will enable facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the first item through the second direct item dealer marketplace system and not through the first direct item dealer marketplace system; detecting, by the computer system, based on data received in the plurality of electronic feeds, that a first dealer associated with a first indirect item dealer marketplace system has sold a second item that is offered for sale through multiple indirect item dealer marketplace systems; and updating, by the computer system, the stored translated inventory data such that data transmitted to the one or more unified marketplace systems will not enable facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the second item through any of the multiple indirect item dealer marketplace systems;
automatically de-duplicating the translated ... inventory, wherein the de-duplication comprises at least: detecting, by the computer system, based on data received in the plurality of electronic feeds, that a first direct ... item dealer associated with a first direct ... item dealer marketplace system has transferred a first ... item to a second direct ... item dealer associated with a second direct ... item dealer marketplace system; and
updating, by the computer system, the stored translated ... inventory data such that data transmitted to the one or more unified marketplace systems will enable facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the first ... item through the second direct ... item dealer marketplace system and not through the first direct ... item dealer marketplace system; detecting, by the computer system, based on data received in the plurality of electronic feeds, that a first indirect ... item dealer associated with a first indirect ... item dealer marketplace system has sold a second ... item that is offered for sale through multiple indirect ... item dealer marketplace systems; and updating, by the computer system, the stored translated ... inventory data such that data transmitted to the one or more unified marketplace systems will not enable facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the second ... item through any of the multiple indirect ... item dealer marketplace systems;
transmitting at least a portion of the stored inventory data to one or more unified marketplace systems, to enable the one or more unified marketplace systems to facilitate searching for and selection of an acquisition candidate item by a user;
transmitting at least a portion of the stored ... inventory data to one or more unified marketplace systems, to enable the one or more unified marketplace systems to facilitate searching for and selection of an acquisition candidate ... item by a user;
receiving, from the one or more unified marketplace systems, acquisition request data in a format compatible with the standardized data model, the acquisition request data indicative of a request by the user to acquire the acquisition candidate item, wherein the acquisition candidate item is associated with one of the plurality of marketplace systems;
receiving, from the one or more unified marketplace systems, acquisition request data in a format compatible with the standardized data model, the acquisition request data indicative of a request by the user to acquire the acquisition candidate ... item,
wherein the acquisition candidate ... item is associated with one of the plurality of ... marketplace systems;
translating, by the computer system, at least a portion of the acquisition request data from the format compatible with the standardized data model to a format compatible with the one of the plurality of marketplace systems; and
translating, by the computer system, at least a portion of the acquisition request data from the format compatible with the standardized data model to a format compatible with the one of the plurality of dealer marketplace systems; and
transmitting, by the computer system over a computer network to the one of the plurality of marketplace systems, the translated at least a portion of the acquisition request data, wherein the computer system comprises one or more hardware computer processors in communication with one or more computer readable storage devices.
transmitting, by the computer system over a computer network to the one of the plurality of dealer marketplace systems, the translated at least a portion of the acquisition request data … wherein the computer system comprises one or more hardware computer processors in communication with one or more computer readable storage devices.
Instant Claim 58
‘358 Claim 14
The computer-implemented method of Claim 57, further comprising: communicating, by the computer system over a computer network, with one or more third party service provider systems, to facilitate inclusion of one or more third party services in the acquisition transaction of the acquisition candidate item, wherein the one or more third party services comprises one or more of: a warranty service, an insurance service, or a financing service.
The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising: communicating, by the computer system over a computer network, with one or more third party service provider systems, to facilitate inclusion of one or more third party services in the acquisition transaction of the acquisition candidate item, wherein the one or more third party services comprises one or more of: a warranty service, an insurance service, or a financing service.
Instant Claim 59
‘358 Claim 15
The computer-implemented method of Claim 57, wherein the plurality of items listed for sale comprises at least one of the following types of items: vehicles, used vehicles, or real estate, and wherein each of the plurality of items listed for sale comprises a combination of attributes, the attributes comprising one or more of feature attributes, condition attributes, or location attributes.
The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of ... items listed for sale comprises at least one of the following types of items: vehicles, used vehicles, or real estate, and
wherein each of the plurality of ... items listed for sale comprises a ... combination of attributes, the attributes comprising one or more of feature attributes, condition attributes, or location attributes.
Instant Claim 60
‘358 Claim 16
An system for generating a marketplace, the system comprising: a system interface configured to communicate over a computer network with a plurality of marketplace systems each listing a different set of items for sale, wherein the plurality of marketplace systems comprises a plurality of direct item dealer marketplace systems and a plurality of indirect item dealer marketplace systems, wherein each item of the different sets of items for sale comprises a combination of attributes, the attributes comprising one or more feature attributes, condition attributes, or location attributes;
An ... system for … a unified marketplace…, the system comprising … a ... item listing system interface configured to communicate over a computer network with a plurality of ... item marketplace systems each listing a different set of ... items for sale,
wherein the plurality of ... item marketplace systems comprises a plurality of direct ... item dealer marketplace systems and a plurality of indirect ... item dealer marketplace systems, wherein each ... item of the different sets of ... items for sale comprises a ... combination of attributes, the attributes comprising one or more feature attributes, condition attributes, or location attributes;
a normalization engine configured to: translate data received from the plurality of marketplace systems into data compliant with a standardized data model; and translate data to be sent to the plurality of marketplace systems from data compliant with the standardized data model into data compliant with requirements of each individual marketplace system;
A normalization engine configured to: translate data received from the plurality of ... marketplace systems into data compliant with a standardized data model; and translate data to be sent to the plurality of ... marketplace systems from data compliant with the standardized data model into data compliant with requirements of each individual ... item marketplace system;
a first database configured to store mappings that define translation methods for each individual marketplace system; and
a marketplace systems mappings database configured to store mappings that define translation methods for each individual ... marketplace system; and
a unified system interface configured to electronically communicate with one or more unified marketplace systems using data compliant with the standardized data model, to enable each of the one or more unified marketplace systems to facilitate item acquisition transactions by: enabling a user to search for and select an acquisition candidate item within a set of candidate items that spans the inventory of multiple of the plurality of marketplace systems; and initiating the item acquisition transaction by transmitting transaction data to the unified marketplace system interface using the standardized data model,
a unified marketplace system interface configured to electronically communicate with one or more unified marketplace systems using data compliant with the standardized data model, to enable each of the one or more unified marketplace systems to facilitate ... item acquisition transactions by: enabling a user to search for and select an acquisition candidate ... item within a set of candidate ... items that spans the inventory of multiple of the plurality of ... item marketplace systems; and initiating the ... item acquisition transaction by transmitting transaction data to the unified marketplace system interface using the standardized data model,
wherein the system interface is further configured to communicate with one of the plurality of marketplace systems that is associated with the acquisition candidate item, using at least a portion of the transaction data, translated by the normalization engine, to process the item acquisition transaction, wherein the system is further configured to automatically de-duplicate the translated data, wherein the de-duplication comprises at least: detecting that a first direct item dealer associated with a first direct item dealer marketplace system has transferred a first item to a second direct item dealer associated with a second direct item dealer marketplace system; and updating the translated data such that the system enables facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the first item through the second direct item dealer marketplace system and not through the first direct item dealer marketplace system.
wherein the ... item listing system interface is further configured to communicate with one of the plurality of ... item marketplace systems that is associated with the acquisition candidate item, using at least a portion of the transaction data, translated by the normalization engine, to process the ... item acquisition transaction,
wherein the ... system is further configured to automatically de-duplicate the translated data, wherein the de-duplication comprises at least: detecting that a first direct ... item dealer associated with a first direct ... item dealer marketplace system has transferred a first ... item to a second direct ... item dealer associated with a second direct ... item dealer marketplace system; and updating the translated data such that the ... system will enable facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the first ... item through the second direct ... item dealer marketplace system and not through the first direct ... item dealer marketplace system.
Instant Claim 61
‘358 Claim 17
The system of Claim 60, wherein the system is further configured to communicate with a plurality of third party data systems and a plurality of third party service provider systems, wherein the plurality of third party service provider systems comprises one or more of: a warranty provider system, an insurance provider system, or a financing provider system.
The system of claim 16, wherein the system is further configured to communicate with a plurality of third party data systems and a plurality of third party service provider systems, wherein the plurality of third party service provider systems comprises one or more of: a warranty provider system, an insurance provider system, or a financing provider system.
Instant Claim 62
‘358 Claim 18
The system of Claim 60, wherein each of the different sets of items listed for sale comprises at least one of the following types of items: vehicles, used vehicles, or real estate.
The system of claim 16, wherein each of the different sets of ... items listed for sale comprises at least one of the following types of items: vehicles, used vehicles, or real estate.
Instant Claim 63
‘358 Claim 19
The system of Claim 60, wherein the de-duplication further comprises at least: detecting that a first indirect item dealer associated with a first indirect item dealer marketplace system has sold a second item that is offered for sale through multiple indirect item dealer marketplace systems; and updating the translated data such that the system will not enable facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the second item through any of the multiple indirect item dealer marketplace systems.
The system of claim 16, wherein the de-duplication further comprises at least: detecting that a first indirect ... item dealer associated with a first indirect ... item dealer marketplace system has sold a second ... item that is offered for sale through multiple indirect ... item dealer marketplace systems; and updating the translated data such that the ... system will not enable facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the second ... item through any of the multiple indirect ... item dealer marketplace systems.
Claim Eligibility – 35 USC §101
Claims 45-63 recite eligible subject matter under 35 USC §101. Specifically, the claims do more than apply the abstract idea using a generic computer because the recited additional elements of the claim apply or use the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the user of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment, such that the claims as a whole are more than a drafting effort to monopolize the exception. For example, the claims recite the normalization of data by translating data feeds of multiple sources based on source-specific mappings into a standardized data model, and, using the normalized data, de-duplicating listings for an item to provide the most up-to-date data on the item for translation using the source-specific mappings and distribution to the multiple sources. The claims as a whole integrate the method of organizing human activity into a practical application. Particularly, the additional elements recite a specific improvement in the capabilities of the claimed computer functionality [MPEP 2106.05(a)(II)] by normalizing and de-duplicating data in real-time to present a unified marketplace for the item. In light of Specification paragraphs [0031] and [0040], it can be seen that the system overcomes the problem of fragmented data access for search and purchase of an item by more efficiently and accurately addressing inconsistencies and duplicates present across the different sources in real-time. Thus, the claims are eligible matter under 35 USC §101.
Allowable Over Prior Art of Record
Claims 45-63 are allowable over prior art though rejected on other grounds (e.g. Statutory Double Patenting) as discussed above. The combination of elements of the claim as a whole are not found in the prior art.
Claims 45, 57, and 60 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejections above and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Upon review of the evidence at hand, it is hereby concluded that the totality of the evidence, alone or in combination, neither anticipates, reasonably teaches, nor renders obvious the below noted features of the Applicant’s invention.
In the present application, claims 45-63 are allowable over prior art. The most related prior art patent of record include Schulz et al (US 20190318401 A1), Veseli (US 20100145813 A1), Moore et al (US 20170323499 A1), Fisher (US 20180053250 A1), Monoghan (US 7865409 B1), and Wu et al (US 20150363838 A1). The most relevant non-patent literature of record is Reference U – see attached. The most foreign patent of record is Brown et al (WO 2013006696 A1).
Schulz teaches a multi-platform e-commerce distribution system which communicates with different merchants, ingesting merchants’ product information in disparate formats and converting it into a unified product schema [0020]. Schulz normalizes the received data and stores the normalized data in a repository of purchasable products [0047, 0013]. This repository may be a product database [0038]. Schulz contains a translation system that extracts data from electronic data streams of the different merchants/e-commerce platforms and translates the data into a unified product schema. This system is also capable of translated unified-schema data into the different formats of each merchant [0020]. The system uses this data conversion to enable multi-merchant shopping, which allows a user to checkout with a single multi-merchant checkout transaction [0107], translating the order transaction data into the unified schema and then into merchant-specific formats to facilitate the transaction [0014], allowing the e-commerce system of origin to fulfill the order [0018].
Schulz is deficient in a number of ways, including at least a failure to teach or suggest the ... system is further configured to automatically de-duplicate the translated inventory, wherein the de-duplication comprises at least: detecting, based on data received in the plurality of electronic feeds, that a first direct item dealer associated with a first direct item dealer marketplace system has transferred a first item to a second direct item dealer associated with a second direct item dealer marketplace system; and updating the stored translated inventory data such that data transmitted to the one or more unified marketplace systems will enable facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the first item through the second direct item dealer marketplace system and not through the first direct item dealer marketplace system; wherein the de-duplication further comprises at least: detecting, based on data received in the plurality of electronic feeds, that a first indirect item dealer associated with a first indirect item dealer marketplace system has sold a second item that is offered for sale through multiple indirect item dealer marketplace systems; and updating the stored translated inventory data such that data transmitted to the one or more unified marketplace systems will not enable facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the second item through any of the multiple indirect item dealer marketplace systems.
Similarly, Veseli, Moore, Fisher, Monoghan, and Wu fail to teach or disclose at least these limitations, alone or in combination. Reference U and Brown similarly fail to teach or disclose, alone or in combination with the references above, at least that the ... system is further configured to automatically de-duplicate the translated inventory, wherein the de-duplication comprises at least: detecting, based on data received in the plurality of electronic feeds, that a first direct item dealer associated with a first direct item dealer marketplace system has transferred a first item to a second direct item dealer associated with a second direct item dealer marketplace system; and updating the stored translated inventory data such that data transmitted to the one or more unified marketplace systems will enable facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the first item through the second direct item dealer marketplace system and not through the first direct item dealer marketplace system; wherein the de-duplication further comprises at least: detecting, based on data received in the plurality of electronic feeds, that a first indirect item dealer associated with a first indirect item dealer marketplace system has sold a second item that is offered for sale through multiple indirect item dealer marketplace systems; and updating the stored translated inventory data such that data transmitted to the one or more unified marketplace systems will not enable facilitation of an acquisition transaction for the second item through any of the multiple indirect item dealer marketplace systems.
Each of these references fail to disclose or render obvious the combination of limitations in the independent claims 45-63, alone or in obvious combination. Therefore, at least for the combination of elements recited in the independent claims, the claims are allowable over prior art if rewritten to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/T.J.S./Examiner, Art Unit 3689
/MARISSA THEIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3689