DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Status of Claims
The office action is being examined in response to the application filed by the Applicant on 11/13/2024.
Claims 1-16 are pending and have been examined.
This action is made NON-FINAL.
This application is being examined as a divisional of application number 17/361,737, following both, an examiner requirement for election due to restriction, and the issuance of a patent under the initial elected application.
Claim Objections
Applicant is advised that should claims 1 be found allowable, claim 10 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. Additionally, the same applies to claims 2 and 11, 3 and 12, 4 and 13, 5 and 14, and claims 6 and 15. In these claims, the difference between a system and a user device are not evident, where a user device and system are synonymous in the specification and in the claims, where the user device and the system in the preamble are recited as systems for building and uploading a title in a standardized format. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
Claim rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 4-7, 10, and 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 as being anticipated by Drucker, US20060026136A1.
Regarding claims 1 and 10: Drucker discloses: [0029] (CPU) [0030] (a system with a data engine, i.e. a processor, rom, i.e. memory, data formatter, i.e. instructions, software, rules used for formatting data, remote computer, user’s system), and [0049] (user’s computer connected to data warehouse where a user may send, receive, view, transmit requests, searches, or data)
Receive, at the one or more processors, a request to generate the title, the request comprising information related to a real property of interest; [0004 and 0083-0084] (order is placed/executed by one or more abstractors, i.e. users, including a request for a title report for a particular property, the request is sent to and received by the system processors), [0016 and 0018] (systems for generating a title report), [0030] (data engine, i.e. a processor, report builder application for generating title reports);
Only For Claim 10: received at a graphical user interface (GUI) associated with a title system, via one or more processors and via a transceiver; [0084] (received at system and displayed) [0031] (display interface of system), [0029] (CPU), [0086] (transmitted over the internet) and [0030] (a server transmits data to a remote computer) (where the hardware that provides the transmissions is reasonably a transceiver);
Receive, at the one more processors, a first document associated with the real property of interest, the first document comprising first metadata created responsive to a first document input received from a first user device, the first metadata including a first timing element; [0049] (user’s computer connected to data warehouse where a user may send, receive, view, transmit requests, searches, or data); [0033] (system accumulates, i.e. receives, a plurality of data associated with the property title including at least a complete set of real estate records, documents like judgements, property liens, and other record instruments, all of which are documents), [0035] (dates and date ranges of collected data and metadata is created responsive to plurality of document data input received from user devices, and indexing and partitioning schemes are applied), [0004] (by one or more abstractors, i.e. users, perform searches for title data);
Receive, at the one more processors, a second document associated with the real property of interest, the second document comprising second metadata created responsive to a second document input received from the first user device and/or a second user device, the second metadata including a second timing element; and [0049] (user’s computer connected to data warehouse where a user may send, receive, view, transmit requests, searches, or data); [0033] (system accumulates, i.e. receives, a plurality of data associated with the property title including at least a complete set of real estate records, documents like judgements, property liens, and other record instruments, all of which are documents), [0035] (dates and date ranges of collected data and metadata is created responsive to plurality of document data input received from user devices, and indexing and partitioning schemes are applied), [0004] (by one or more abstractors, i.e. users, perform searches for title data);
Generate, via the one or more processors, the title to include the first document and the second document appearing within the title in an order based on at least one of: [0079] (arrange documents in title report), [0080] (generate a report, the generated report including a plurality of documents that appear withing a title record);
(i) the first timing element and the second timing element; or [0053] (2 timing elements, i.e. recordation date and/or deed book/page numbers),
(ii) a standardized order for title documentation. [0079] (standard/preferred order for documents in title report).
Regarding claims 4 and 13: Drucker discloses: the system of claim 1, wherein the first document input and the second document input are received from one or more fields in a graphical user interface (GUI) associated with the system and displayed on the first user device and/or the second user device and comprise information about which type of property document is being uploaded. [0035] (documents are analyzed to identify essential data fields), [0042] (data input into data fields from inputs received from the plurality of documents), [0049] (user’s computer connected to data warehouse where a user may send, receive, view, transmit requests, searches, or data), [0073] (data inputs in fields are displayed to user via interface);
Only for claim 13: the user device; [0004] (by one or more abstractors, i.e. one or more users with their devices).
Regarding claims 5 and 14: Drucker discloses: the system of claim 1, wherein:
The first timing element includes at least one of a first recordation date or a first deed book location associated with the first document; and [0053] (2 timing elements, i.e. recordation date and/or deed book/page numbers),
The second timing element includes at least one of a second recordation date or a second deed book location associated with the second document. [0053] (2 timing elements, i.e. recordation date and/or deed book/page numbers),
Only for claim 14: the user device; [0004] (by one or more abstractors, i.e. one or more users with their devices);
Regarding claims 6 and 15: Drucker discloses: the system of claim 5, wherein:
The first deed book location and/or the second deed book location comprise character identifiers configured to arrange one or more deed books chronologically; [0053] (deed book locations, comprising identifying data characters), [0052] (data that is older than another data, i.e. chronological order) [0079] (sort and arrange deed book data in preferred order), [0070] (arrange and group the data instruments into logical components, i.e. chronologically), [0047] (data is indexed by any specified classification, i.e. chronologically);
The one or more deed books are chronologically arranged according to one or more arranging rules; and [0053] (deed book locations, comprising identifying data characters), [0052] (data that is older than another data, i.e. chronological order) [0079] (sort and arrange deed book data in preferred order), [0070] (arrange and group the data instruments into logical components, i.e. chronologically),
The instructions are configured to cause the system to:
Store, in a database, the one or more arranging rules for the one or more deed books; and [0028] “The data loaders 14 index and store the gathered data in a database management system (DBMS) 18 by category or identifiers;”
Arrange, via the one or more processors, the first timing element and the second timing element based on the one or more arranging rules. [0052] (data that is older than another data, i.e. chronological order), [0079] (sort and arrange book data in preferred order), [0070] (arrange and group the data instruments into logical components, i.e. via arranging rules),
Only for claim 15: the user device; [0004] (by one or more abstractors, i.e. one or more users with their devices).
Regarding Claim 7: Drucker discloses: The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are configured to cause the system to:
Store, in a database, a plurality of title reports comprising the title, the plurality of title reports being accessible by a plurality of user devices and searchable based at least upon property addresses associated with a plurality of real properties; [0004] (by one or more abstractors, i.e. one or more users with their devices), [0052] (more than one user requesting a report search, with their individual devices), [0049] (users computers connected to data warehouse where a user may send, receive, view, transmit requests, searches, or data), [0028] “The data loaders 14 index and store the gathered data in a database management system (DBMS) 18 by category or identifiers,” [0062] (searchable by property address);
Receive, at the one or more processors, an access request for the title from a third user device seeking a copy of the title responsive to purchasing the title; and [0004] (by one or more abstractors, i.e. one or more users with their devices) [0049] (user’s computer connected to data warehouse where a user may send, receive, view, transmit requests, searches, or data), [0031] (a user writes a decision support query, i.e. a request to access data, where the query is received by the system), [0013] (receive a request for at least one title document from at least one user), [0083-0084] (the system receives the request for title access from a user’s device), [0085] (revenue generating order management product, i.e. manages the purchase of orders for title documents and revenue generating client management product manages the client’s accounts, with regards to searches and title report requests);
Transmit, via a transceiver, the title to the third user device. [0049] (user’s computer connected to data warehouse where a user may send, receive, view, transmit requests, searches, or data), [0084] (transmit the title to the requesting abstractor, i.e. user device), [0084] (received at system and displayed) [0031] (display interface of system), [0029] (CPU), [0086] (transmitted over the internet) and [0030] (a server transmits data to a remote computer) (where the hardware that provides the transmissions is reasonably a transceiver).
Regarding Claim 16: Drucker discloses: The user device of claim 10, wherein the instructions are configured to cause the user device to receive, at the one or more processors and via the GUI, a confirmation to provide the title for purchase on a cloud server operated by the title system. [Figure 3, 32] (a confirmation of order of title is provided to user),
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 2-3 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Drucker, US20060026136A1, in view of Cantral, US20060039610A1.
Regarding claim 2: Drucker discloses: the system of claim 1, wherein:
The first document is a digital file retrieved by the first user device from a document entity storing a plurality of property documents; and [0004-0005] (by one or more abstractors, i.e. users, perform searches for title data from a plurality of entities storing a plurality of property documents), [0049] (user’s computer connected to data warehouses where a user may send, receive, view, transmit requests, searches, or data), [0030] (receive data at user’s computer), [0031] (data warehouse allows access to a plurality of documents from a plurality of disparate sources, i.e. entities), [0069] (computer viewable image of file, i.e. digital file);
The second document is an image file captured by the first user device and/or the second user device, the image file being associated with a hard copy of a property document. and [0049] (user’s computer connected to data warehouse where a user may send, receive, view, transmit requests, searches, or data), [0053] (image file captured from hard copy of property document), [0071] (image provided by a third-party image provider or county clerk in the form of a scanned image of the original, hard copy document), [0069] (computer viewable image of file, i.e. digital file);
Where Drucker does not disclose , Cantral teaches: image capture by the first user device or the second user device. [0029-0030] (a scanner/printer interface connected to a user device, capable of image capture by the device);
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the base disclosure of Drucker which incorporates generating title reports from received data including digital files and image files, without explicitly disclosing the capability of capturing images via a user device, with the marked improvements of Cantral, where Cantral discloses a document or image capture device, capable of capturing images. The instant application can be seen as an improvement over Drucker’s base device, such that the prior art of Cantral contains a known technique that is applicable to the base disclosure of Drucker, resulting in a combined disclosure that is obvious over the instant application. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved combined disclosure, obvious over the instant application before the effective filing date.
Regarding claim 11: Drucker discloses: The use device of claim 10, wherein: [0029] (CPU) [0030] (a system with a data engine, i.e. a processor, rom, i.e. memory, data formatter, i.e. instructions, software, rules used for formatting data, remote computer, user’s system), and [0049] (user’s computer connected to data warehouse where a user may send, receive, view, transmit requests, searches, or data);
The first document is a digital file retrieved by the first user device from a document entity storing a plurality of property documents; and [0004-0005] (by one or more abstractors, i.e. users, perform searches for title data from a plurality of entities storing a plurality of property documents), [0049] (user’s computer connected to data warehouses where a user may send, receive, view, transmit requests, searches, or data), [0030] (receive data at user’s computer), [0031] (data warehouse allows access to a plurality of documents from a plurality of disparate sources, i.e. entities), [0069] (computer viewable image of file, i.e. digital file);
The second document is an image file captured by the first user device and/or the second user device, the image file being associated with a hard copy of a property document. and [0049] (user’s computer connected to data warehouse where a user may send, receive, view, transmit requests, searches, or data), [0053] (image file captured from hard copy of property document), [0071] (image provided by a third-party image provider or county clerk in the form of a scanned image of the original, hard copy document), [0069] (computer viewable image of file, i.e. digital file);
Where Drucker does not disclose , Cantral teaches: the user device further comprises an image capture device, and image file captured by the image capture device. (Where the image capture device, as claimed, must only be capable of capturing an image file), [0029-0030] (a scanner/printer interface connected to a user device, capable of image capture by the device);
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the base disclosure of Drucker which incorporates generating title reports from received data including digital files and image files, without explicitly disclosing the capability of capturing images via a user device, with the marked improvements of Cantral, where Cantral discloses a document or image capture device, capable of capturing images. The instant application can be seen as an improvement over Drucker’s base device, such that the prior art of Cantral contains a known technique that is applicable to the base disclosure of Drucker, resulting in a combined disclosure that is obvious over the instant application. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved combined disclosure, obvious over the instant application before the effective filing date.
Regarding Claims 3: Drucker discloses: The system of claim 2, [0029] (CPU) [0030] (a system with a data engine, i.e. a processor, rom, i.e. memory, data formatter, i.e. instructions, software, rules used for formatting data, remote computer, user’s system);
The first timing element; 0053] (2 timing elements, i.e. recordation date and/or deed book/page numbers);
The second timing element; 0053] (2 timing elements, i.e. recordation date and/or deed book/page numbers);
The first document input; or [0033] (a plurality of data associated with the property title including at least a complete set of real estate records, documents like judgements, property liens, and other record instruments, all of which are documents), [0035] (data and metadata is created responsive to plurality of document data input received from user devices);
The second document input. [0033] (a plurality of data associated with the property title including at least a complete set of real estate records, documents like judgements, property liens, and other record instruments, all of which are documents), [0035] (data and metadata is created responsive to plurality of document data input received from user devices);
Where Drucker does not disclose, Cantral teaches: wherein the instructions are configured to cause the system to use optical character recognition (OCR) to identify elements, or inputs from documents. [0008] (optical character recognition (OCR) is utilized to recognize text in images and documents, allowing them to be saved as digital documents with extracted information that may be used in other processes as meaningful text).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the base disclosure of Drucker which incorporates generating title reports from received data including digital files and image files, without explicitly disclosing the capability to use optical character recognition (OCR)to identify elements or inputs from documents, with the marked improvements of Cantral, where Cantral discloses optical character recognition (OCR), capable to identify elements or inputs from documents. The instant application can be seen as an improvement over Drucker’s base device, such that the prior art of Cantral contains a known technique that is applicable to the base disclosure of Drucker, resulting in a combined disclosure that is obvious over the instant application. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved combined disclosure, obvious over the instant application before the effective filing date.
Regarding Claim 12: Drucker discloses: The user device of claim 11, wherein instructions are configured to identify at least one of: [0029] (CPU) [0030] (a system with a data engine, i.e. a processor, rom, i.e. memory, data formatter, i.e. instructions, software, rules used for formatting data, remote computer, user’s system), and [0049] (user’s computer connected to data warehouse where a user may send, receive, view, transmit requests, searches, or data)
The first timing element; 0053] (2 timing elements, i.e. recordation date and/or deed book/page numbers);
The second timing element; 0053] (2 timing elements, i.e. recordation date and/or deed book/page numbers);
The first document input; or (a plurality of data associated with the property title including at least a complete set of real estate records, documents like judgements, property liens, and other record instruments, all of which are documents), [0035] (data and metadata is created responsive to plurality of document data input received from user devices);
The second document input. [0033] (a plurality of data associated with the property title including at least a complete set of real estate records, documents like judgements, property liens, and other record instruments, all of which are documents), [0035] (data and metadata is created responsive to plurality of document data input received from user devices);
Only for claim 12: the user device; [0004] (by one or more abstractors, i.e. one or more users with their devices);
Where Drucker does not disclose, Cantral teaches: wherein the instructions are configured to cause the system to use optical character recognition (OCR) to identify elements or inputs from documents. [0008] (optical character recognition (OCR) is utilized to recognize text in images and documents, allowing them to be saved as digital documents with extracted information that may be used in other processes as meaningful text).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the base disclosure of Drucker which incorporates generating title reports from received data including digital files and image files, without explicitly disclosing the capability of capturing images via a user device, with the marked improvements of Cantral, where Cantral discloses a document or image capture device, capable of capturing images. The instant application can be seen as an improvement over Drucker’s base device, such that the prior art of Cantral contains a known technique that is applicable to the base disclosure of Drucker, resulting in a combined disclosure that is obvious over the instant application. One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved combined disclosure, obvious over the instant application before the effective filing date.
Claims 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Drucker, US20060026136A1, in view of Ubalde, US20110276534A1.
Regarding Claim 8: Drucker discloses: The system of claim 7, purchase a title report; [0085] (revenue generating order management product, i.e. manages the purchase of orders for title documents and revenue generating client management product manages the client’s accounts, with regards to searches and title report requests);
Where Drucker does not disclose, Ubalde teaches: wherein the instructions are configured to cause the system to display, via the one or more processors, the plurality of real properties on a map within a graphical user interface displayed on the plurality of user devices, wherein a location of each of the plurality of real properties is superimposed on the map, and wherein the location of each of the plurality of real properties is selectable to view a title report associated with a selected property), [0037] (display on a graphical user interface, a map with property locations that match a search),[0071] (map with property information superimposed on the map), [0036] (selectable properties and dynamic user defined specific reports), [0079] (the maps may be useful for title and real estate businesses and related industries, where the dynamic reports that may incorporate user specific reports, like a title report transaction assistance related to site selection analysis and property sale/lease., upon selection) [0038] (after the property search returns the property, the application generates detailed property reports).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the base invention of Drucker with the map improvements of Ubalde. The prior art contains a known technique that is applicable to the base invention and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique would have yielded predictable results and an improved disclosure.
Regarding Claim 9: Drucker discloses: The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are configured to cause the system to:
Receive, at the one or more processors, a partial address for the real property of interest; and [0062] (receive a search for an address identifier, which could be a partial address data);
Where Drucker does not disclose, Ubalde teaches: Auto-fill, via the one or more processors and a mapping application programming interface (API) connecting the one or more processors to a third-party map service, a full address for the real property of interest to confirm a recording address for the real property of interest is accurate and consistent for all user devices accessing a database associated with the system. [0018] (display property address for a property that was searched by the user), [0037] (a user’s search by at least address data returns property data for properties that match the submitted data, automatically, such that the user may drill down to find the property they were searching for using the property address data that may be partial data; selecting the map presents property data such that the user can check accuracy and consistency of data recorded for the particular property of interest at said address).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the base invention of Drucker with the map improvements of Ubalde. The prior art contains a known technique that is applicable to the base invention and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique would have yielded predictable results and an improved disclosure.
Conclusion
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ANGELA HATCH
Examiner
Art Unit 3626
/ANGELA HATCH/Examiner, Art Unit 3626
/NATHAN C UBER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3626