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
This communication is a Non-Final Office Action in response to application number 19/117,663 received on 04/02/2025.
In accordance with Applicant’s filing, claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been examined.
Priority
Applicants claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119 and/or 35 U.S.C. 120 is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/02/2025 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 13 are objected to because of the following informalities: Grammatical error of the typographical kind:
From claim 1/13: “to crate invitation information including a request to the invited company”. For the purpose of compact prosecution, Examiner is interpreting “crate” as create.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitations include:
From claim 1: “a portal management section configured to perform processing of registering users of the supply chain platform system through the terminal and to register company information of each of the participating companies; a business partner management section configured to assign a business partner management group to each of the participating companies and to create business partner management information for each of the participating companies; an invitation section configured to set one of the participating companies registered in the company information as an invited company, to crate invitation information including a request to the invited company for enrollment in the business partner management group of an inviting company, and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the company information; an approval control section configured to receive an enrollment approval in response to the invitation information from the terminal of the invited company”.
From claim 2: “wherein the business partner management section is configured to refer to the business partner management information of a connected company registered in the business partner management information of an own company”.
From claim 3: “further comprising an own disclosure setting control section configured to perform invited company disclosure setting processing”.
From claim 4: “a disclosure setting control section configured to perform invited company disclosure setting processing”.
From claim 5: “further comprising a list registration section configured to perform white list registration processing”.
From claim 6: “further comprising a display control section configured to create a first display object of the own company, a second display object corresponding to the connected company of the own company, and a line segment connecting the first display object with the second display object, and to create the supply chain network diagram”.
From claim 7: “further comprising a display control section configured to create a first display object”.
From claim 8: “wherein the display control section is configured to create”.
From claim 9: “wherein the business partner management section is configured to provide a business partner management screen on the terminal and has a function of searching the company information based on a search condition input on the business partner management screen, the business partner management section is configured to add a company searched for through the search function to the business partner management information as a business partner to be added, and the invitation section is configured to create the invitation information based on an operation for inviting the business partner to be added on the business partner management screen from the terminal and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the company information.”.
From claim 10: “wherein the business partner management section is configured to provide a company provisional registration screen on the terminal in response to no company found to match the search condition and to provisionally register a company in the business partner management information based on the company information input through the company provisional registration screen, the invitation section is configured to create the invitation information based on an operation for inviting the provisionally registered company on the business partner management screen from the terminal and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the provisionally registered company information, and the portal management section is configured to perform the user registration processing of the provisionally registered invited company in response to enrollment approval based on the invitation information and to register the company information of the provisionally registered invited company in the supply chain platform system.”.
From claim 11: “further comprising an information management section configured to receive information provided from the terminal of a company to each of the other companies and to provide the received information on the terminal of the company registered in the business partner management information”.
From claim 12: “an information acquiring section configured to acquire, from an external system capable of providing an amount of carbon dioxide emissions involved in company activities for each of the companies, the amount of carbon oxide emissions of each of the participating companies; a storage section configured to store sales information of the participating companies and trading results of the business partners constituting the sales information; a carbon dioxide emissions amount calculating section configured to extract, based on the business partner management information, the connected companies of the own company related to the trading results, to calculate a ratio of the trading results of each of the extracted connected companies to the sales information, and to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide emissions for each connected company by multiplexing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions by the ratio of each of the connected companies; and an information management section configured to provide the amount of the carbon dioxide emissions of each of the companies on the terminal of the company registered as the connected company having business with the own company.”.
From claim 14: “wherein the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that each of the participating companies can register, through the terminal, supply chain relationship information with a company registered in the business partner management information for each of a single or a plurality of supply chains to which the own company belongs, further comprising a display control section configured to create the supply chain network diagram based on the business partner management information and the supply chain relationship information, wherein the display control section is configured to create a display object representing the own company and a display object representing each of the companies registered in the business partner management information, to create line segments connecting the display objects according to the supply chain relationship information across the different supply chains, and to create the supply chain network diagram including the display objects and the line segments.”.
From claim 15: “wherein the display control section is configured to create a display object”.
From claim 16: “the display control section is configured to create, for each of the supply chains, a line segment as an arrow from one display object representing a position of the buyer company toward another display object and a line segment as an arrow toward one display object representing a position of the supplier company from another display object to create the supply chain network diagram in which the line segments connect the display objects.”.
From claim 17: “the display control section is configured to display the insurance subscription status at the display object”.
From claim 18: “further comprising a risk management section configured to refer to the business partner management information of the company registered in the business partner management information and to perform risk evaluation processing based on the supply chain relation information, wherein the supply chain relationship information includes a buyer company and a supplier company, the risk management section is configured to count the number of companies registered as the supplier companies across the different supply chains for each of the companies registered in the business partner management information, and to perform the risk evaluation based on the number of the companies registered as the supplier companies.”.
From claim 19: “the risk management section is configured to perform the risk evaluation processing”.
From claim 20: “further comprising a display control section configured to create a display object representing the own company and a display object representing each of the companies registered in the business partner management information, to create line segments connecting the display objects, and to create the supply chain network diagram including the display objects and the line segments, wherein the display control section is configured to perform control to visualize the insurance subscription status of the display object in the supply chain network diagram.”.
These claims invoke §112(f) because they recite the following nonce terms:
From claim 1: a portal management section, a business partner management section, an invitation section, and an approval control section.
From claim 2: business partner management section.
From claim 3: an own disclosure setting control section.
From claim 4: a disclosure setting control section.
From claim 5: a list registration section.
From claim 6: a display control section.
From claim 7: a display control section.
From claim 8: the display control section.
From claim 9: the business partner management section.
From claim 10: the business partner management section, an information management section, and an information acquiring section.
From claim 11: an information management section.
From claim 12: information acquiring section, storage section, and carbon dioxide emissions amount calculating section.
From claim 14: the business partner management section, and a display control section.
From claim 15: the display control section.
From claim 16: the display control section.
From claim 17: the display control section.
From claim 18: a risk management section.
From claim 19: the risk management section.
From claim 20: a display control section.
Said generic placeholders are followed by functional language, without being modified by sufficient structure to perform the actions/steps of the recited limitations. When looking to the specification and drawings, the following is disclosed:
When looking to the specification, the hardware structure associated with the “a portal management section” is being interpreted as “a computer system,” please see at least Figs. 1-2 and [0016-0017] of the instant specification. The corresponding algorithm can be found in at least Fig. 1-3 and corresponding paragraphs [0020, 0021, 0033, 0078, 0104]. This is to be the structure and algorithm required for the claim, or equivalents thereof.
When looking to the specification, the hardware structure associated with the “a business partner management section” is being interpreted as “a computer system,” please see at least Figs. 1-2 and [0016-0017] of the instant specification. The corresponding algorithm can be found in at least Fig. 1-3 and corresponding paragraphs [0019, 0022, 0024-0030]. This is to be the structure and algorithm required for the claim, or equivalents thereof.
When looking to the specification, the hardware structure associated with the “an invitation section” is being interpreted as “a computer system,” please see at least Figs. 1-2 and [0016-0017] of the instant specification. The corresponding algorithm can be found in at least Fig. 1-3 and corresponding paragraphs [0019, 0030-0032]. This is to be the structure and algorithm required for the claim, or equivalents thereof.
When looking to the specification, the hardware structure associated with the “an approval control section” is being interpreted as “a computer system,” please see at least Figs. 1-2 and [0016-0017] of the instant specification. The corresponding algorithm can be found in at least Fig. 1-3 and corresponding paragraphs [0034-0035]. This is to be the structure and algorithm required for the claim, or equivalents thereof.
When looking to the specification, the hardware structure associated with the “a disclosure setting control section” is being interpreted as “a computer system,” please see at least Figs. 1-2 and [0016-0017] of the instant specification. The corresponding algorithm can be found in at least Fig. 1-3 and corresponding paragraphs [0053-0054, 0061-0062]. This is to be the structure and algorithm required for the claim, or equivalents thereof.
When looking to the specification, the hardware structure associated with the “a list registration section” is being interpreted as “a computer system,” please see at least Figs. 1-2 and [0016-0017] of the instant specification. The corresponding algorithm can be found in at least Fig. 1-3 and corresponding paragraphs [0056-0058, 0062]. This is to be the structure and algorithm required for the claim, or equivalents thereof.
When looking to the specification, the hardware structure associated with the “a display control section” is being interpreted as “a computer system,” please see at least Figs. 1-3 and [0016-0017] of the instant specification. See MPEP 2181(II)(B).
When looking to the specification, the hardware structure associated with the “an information management section” is being interpreted as “a computer system,” please see at least Figs. 1-2 and [0016-0017] of the instant specification. The corresponding algorithm be found in at least Fig. 1-3 and corresponding paragraphs [0068-0071]. This is to be the structure and algorithm required for the claim, or equivalents thereof.
When looking to the specification, the hardware structure associated with the “an information acquiring section” is being interpreted as “a computer system,” please see at least Figs. 1-2 and [0016-0017] of the instant specification. The corresponding algorithm can be found in at least Fig. 1-3 and corresponding paragraphs [0070, Fig. 13]. This is to be the structure and algorithm required for the claim, or equivalents thereof.
When looking to the specification, the hardware structure associated with the “carbon dioxide emissions amount calculating section” is being interpreted as “a computer system,” please see at least Figs. 1-2 and [0016-0017] of the instant specification. The corresponding algorithm can be found in at least Fig. 1-3 and corresponding paragraphs [0071]. This is to be the structure and algorithm required for the claim, or equivalents thereof.
When looking to the specification, the hardware structure associated with the “a risk management section” is being interpreted as “a computer system,” please see at least Figs. 1-2 and [0016-0017] of the instant specification. The corresponding algorithm can be found in at least Fig. 1-3 and corresponding paragraphs [0098-0100, 0109]. This is to be the structure and algorithm required for the claim, or equivalents thereof.
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 3 and 12 are 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.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 USC 112(b) because the metes and bounds of the claim are rendered unclear. The claim invokes 35 USC 112(f) and the specification does not sufficiently disclose the algorithm related to the corresponding function. The original disclosure is silent regarding the corresponding hardware and algorithm to perform the claimed function with the “own disclosure setting control section.” The metes and bounds of the claim are rendered unclear because the specification does not describe, whether expressly, implicitly, or inherently, the structure/materials/acts associated with the claimed “own disclosure setting control section.” Therefore, the metes and bounds of the claim are rendered unclear because the claim invokes 35 USC 112(f) and the original disclosure is silent regarding the corresponding structure and algorithm to perform the entire claimed function.
Therefore, the “own disclosure setting control section” is being interpreted as any structure and algorithm capable of performing the claimed function.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 USC 112(b) because the bounds of the claimed invention are unclear. In particular, the claim invokes 35 USC 112(f) because it recites the generic placeholder “a storage section” that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function, and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. The claim(s) recite(s): “a storage section configured to store sales information of the participating companies and trading results of the business partners constituting the sales information;”. It is unclear what the storage section” is. The instant specification do not specifically recite an “a storage section”. The specification does not clearly link the structure of a “storage section” to any particular structure capable of performing storing, including those of [Fig. 2] and [Fig. 14], which disclose a “Storage Apparatus 130”. The drafting of the claim is not clear, such that the introduction of this claim element is supported by what they actually are. A person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention’s filing would not readily recognize the meaning of claim limitations “storage section”. Therefore, the metes and bounds of the claim are rendered unclear because the claim invokes 35 USC 112(f) and the specification does not disclose the structure corresponding to the “storage section.”. Therefore, the bounds of the claim are unclear. For the purpose of compact prosecution, Examiner is interpreting the storage section from claim 12 as equivalent to any storage device (i.e., generic computing component).
If Applicant does not wish for the “own disclosure setting control section” of claim 3 and the “storage section” of claim 12 to be interpreted under 35 USC 112(F), Examiner suggests either amending the claim to remove the interpreted language or amend the limitation to recite specific structure capable of performing the claimed function
Accordingly, claims 3 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 3 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement.
The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
With respect to claim 3, the claim limitation of “an own disclosure setting control section configured to perform own company disclosure setting processing” invokes 35 USC 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 USC 112, sixth paragraph. However, the written description fails to disclose the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the entire claimed function and to clearly link the structure, material, or acts to the function. In particular, the specification does not adequately disclose how the “own disclosure setting control section” performs the entire claimed function. The specification is devoid of any link between the “disclosure setting control section” of paragraphs [0053-0054, 0061-0062] and structure and algorithm capable of performing the claimed function. There is structure within the specification, such as in [0053-0054], capable of performing the claimed function; however, this structure is not clearly linked to the “own disclosure setting control section” of the present claims. As the instant disclosure fails to disclose, whether expressly, implicitly, or inherently, the structure, material, or acts associated with the own disclosure setting control section, the present claims are rejected for lacking adequate written description of the claimed invention.
With respect to claim 12, the claim limitation of “a storage section configured to store sales information” invokes 35 USC 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 USC 112, sixth paragraph. However, the written description fails to disclose the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the entire claimed function and to clearly link the structure, material, or acts to the function. In particular, the specification does not adequately disclose how the “storage section” performs the entire claimed function. The specification is devoid of any link between the “storage apparatus 130” of paragraph [0017] and structure capable of performing the claimed function. There is structure within the specification, such as in [0017, 0021], capable of performing the claimed function; however, this structure is not clearly linked to the “a storage section” of the present claims. As the instant disclosure fails to disclose, whether expressly, implicitly, or inherently, the structure, material, or acts associated with the storage section, the present claims are rejected for lacking adequate written description of the claimed invention.
Accordingly, claims 3 and 12 are rejected under 35 USC 112(a).
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 USC 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e. abstract idea) without anything significantly more.
Step 1: The claimed invention is analyzed to determine if it falls outside one of the four statutory categories of invention. See MPEP 2106.03
Claims 1-12 and 14-20 are directed to a system (i.e., Machine), claim 13 is directed to a non-transitory computer readable medium (i.e., Manufacture). Therefore, the claims are directed to patent eligible categories of invention. Accordingly, the claims satisfy Step 1 of the eligibility inquiry.
Step 2A, Prong 1: In prong one of step 2A, the claim(s) is/are analyzed to evaluate whether they recite a judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.04
Independent claims 1/13 recite a system and non-transitory computer readable medium capable of communication with terminals of companies participating in a supply chain. As drafted, the limitations recited by claims 1/13 fall under the “Mental Processes” abstract idea grouping by setting forth activities that could be performed mentally by a human (including an observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion, or with the help of pen and paper).
The abstract limitations of claim 1 include: “perform processing of registering users of the supply chain platform and to register company information of each of the participating companies; assign a business partner management group to each of the participating companies and to create business partner management information for each of the participating companies; set one of the participating companies registered in the company information as an invited company, to crate invitation information including a request to the invited company for enrollment in the business partner management group of an inviting company”. These limitations, as drafted, but for the recitation of additional elements in the claim, are a process that covers performance of the limitations in the mind. That is, nothing in the claim elements preclude the steps from practically being performed in the human mind, such as by human observation, evaluation, judgement, opinion, or with the help of pen and paper.
The abstract limitations of claim 13 include: “to provide: a first function of performing processing of registering users and registering company information of each of the participating companies; a second function of assigning a business partner management group to each of the participating companies and to create business partner management information for each of the participating companies; a third function of setting one of the participating companies registered in the company information as an invited company, to crate invitation information including a request to the invited company for enrollment in the business partner management group of an inviting company”. These limitations, as drafted, but for the recitation of additional elements in the claim, are a process that covers performance of the limitations in the mind. That is, nothing in the claim elements preclude the steps from practically being performed in the human mind, such as by human observation, evaluation, judgement, opinion, or with the help of pen and paper.
Dependent claims 2-12, and 14-20 further narrow the abstract idea and introduce further additional elements for consideration.
Step 2A, Prong 2: An evaluation is made whether a claim recites any additional element, or combination of additional elements, that integrate the judicial exception into a practical application of the exception. See MPEP 2106.04(d).
Regarding the computing additional elements, namely a portal management section, through the terminal, a business partner management section, and an invitation section from claim 1, and through the terminal from claim 13, these additional elements have been evaluated but fail to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h).
With respect to the limitations and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the company information, and an approval control section configured to receive an enrollment approval in response to the invitation information from the terminal of the invited company, wherein the business partner management section is configured to register the invited company as a connected company in the business partner management information based on the enrollment approval from the invited company in response to the transmission of the invitation information to a company serving as the inviting company, to register the inviting company as a connected company in the business partner management information based on the enrollment approval to the inviting company in response to reception of the invitation information from an another company serving as the invited company, and to create the supply chain network based on the connected companies from claim 1, and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the company information, and a fourth function of receiving an enrollment approval in response to the invitation information from the terminal of the invited company, wherein the second function includes registering the invited company as a connected company in the business partner management information based on the enrollment approval from the invited company in response to the transmission of the invitation information to a company serving as the inviting company, registering, the inviting company as a connected company in the business partner management information based on the enrollment approval to the inviting company in response to reception of the invitation information from an another company serving as the invited company, and creating the supply chain network based on the connected companies from claim 13, these limitations do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because they add insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. This limitation merely recites receiving and/or sending data over a network, which is extra-solution activity. See MPEP 2106.05(g).
Therefore, the additional elements of the independent claims, when considered both individually and in combination, are not sufficient to prove integration into a practical application.
Regarding the additional elements from claim 2: With respect to the business partner management section, this additional element has been evaluated but fails to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it amounts to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 3: With respect to the an own disclosure setting control section and an own company disclosure setting screen, these additional elements have been evaluated but fail to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h).
With respect to the limitations the business partner management section is configured to store own company disclosure setting information associated with the invited company registered in the business partner management information of the inviting company and the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that the invited company having the own company disclosure setting information set to non- disclosure is not registered as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company, these limitations do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because they add insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. These limitations merely recites storing and/or retrieving data in a memory, which is extra-solution activity. See MPEP 2106.05(g).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 4: With respect to the a disclosure setting control section and an invited company disclosure setting screen, these additional elements have been evaluated but fail to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h).
With respect to the limitations the business partner management section is configured to store invited company disclosure setting information associated with the invited company registered in the business partner management information of the inviting company, and the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that the invited company having the invited company disclosure setting information set to non- disclosure is not registered as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company, these limitations do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because they add insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. These limitations merely recites storing and/or retrieving data in a memory, which is extra-solution activity. See MPEP 2106.05(g).
Regarding claim 5: With respect to the a list registration section configured to perform white list registration processing of allowing registration in the business partner management information as the secondary connected company through the terminal or non-disclosure company list registration processing of not allowing registration in the business partner management information as the secondary connected company, this additional element has been evaluated but fails to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it amounts to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h).
With respect to wherein the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that only a company registered on a whitelist by the invited company can register the own company as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company or to perform control such that only a company registered on a non-disclosure company list by the invited company is not registered the own company as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company, these limitations do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because they add insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. These limitations merely recite storing and/or retrieving data in a memory, which is extra-solution activity. See MPEP 2106.05(g).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 6: With respect to the a display control section configured to create a first display object of the own company, a second display object corresponding to the connected company of the own company, and a line segment connecting the first display object with the second display object, and to create the supply chain network diagram, this additional element has been evaluated but fails to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it amounts to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 7: With respect to the limitation further comprising a display control section configured to create a first display object of the own company, a second display object corresponding to the connected company of the own company, and a line segment connecting the first display object with the second display object, to create a third display object corresponding to the second connected company and a line segment connecting the second display object with the third display object, and to create the supply chain network diagram in which the second display object is placed around the first display object and the third display object is placed outside the second display object, this/these limitation(s) do(es) not integrate(s) the judicial exception into a practical application because it/they add(s) insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(g).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 8: With respect to the limitation wherein the display control section is configured to create, based on address information included in the company information, a supply chain network diagram of a map display type in which the display objects are displayed on a map, this/these limitation(s) do(es) not integrate(s) the judicial exception into a practical application because it/they add(s) insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(g).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 9: With respect to the business partner management section is configured to provide a business partner management screen on the terminal and has a function of searching the company information based on a search condition input on the business partner management screen, the business partner management section is configured to add a company searched for through the search function to the business partner management information as a business partner to be added, and the invitation section is configured to create the invitation information based on an operation for inviting the business partner to be added on the business partner management screen from the terminal and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the company information, these additional elements have been evaluated but fail to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 10: With respect to wherein the business partner management section is configured to provide a company provisional registration screen on the terminal in response to no company found to match the search condition and to provisionally register a company in the business partner management information based on the company information input through the company provisional registration screen, the invitation section is configured to create the invitation information based on an operation for inviting the provisionally registered company on the business partner management screen from the terminal and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the provisionally registered company information, and the portal management section is configured to perform the user registration processing of the provisionally registered invited company in response to enrollment approval based on the invitation information and to register the company information of the provisionally registered invited company in the supply chain platform system, these additional elements have been evaluated but fail to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 11: With respect to an information management section configured to receive information provided from the terminal of a company to each of the other companies and to provide the received information on the terminal of the company registered in the business partner management information, these limitations do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because they add insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. These limitations merely recite storing and/or retrieving data in a memory, which is extra-solution activity. See MPEP 2106.05(g).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 12: With respect to an information acquiring section configured to acquire, from an external system capable of providing an amount of carbon dioxide emissions involved in company activities for each of the companies, the amount of carbon oxide emissions of each of the participating companies, a storage section configured to store sales information of the participating companies and trading results of the business partners constituting the sales information, a carbon dioxide emissions amount calculating section configured to extract, based on the business partner management information, the connected companies of the own company related to the trading results, to calculate a ratio of the trading results of each of the extracted connected companies to the sales information, and to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide emissions for each connected company by multiplexing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions by the ratio of each of the connected companies, these limitations do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because they add insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. These limitations merely recite storing and/or retrieving data in a memory, which is extra-solution activity. See MPEP 2106.05(g).
With respect to an information management section configured to provide the amount of the carbon dioxide emissions of each of the companies on the terminal of the company registered as the connected company having business with the own company, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 14: With respect to wherein the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that each of the participating companies can register, through the terminal, supply chain relationship information with a company registered in the business partner management information for each of a single or a plurality of supply chains to which the own company belongs, further comprising a display control section configured to create the supply chain network diagram based on the business partner management information and the supply chain relationship information, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h).
With respect to the limitation wherein the display control section is configured to create a display object representing the own company and a display object representing each of the companies registered in the business partner management information, to create line segments connecting the display objects according to the supply chain relationship information across the different supply chains, and to create the supply chain network diagram including the display objects and the line segments, this limitation does not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because it adds insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(g).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 15: With respect to the limitation wherein the display control section is configured to create a display object representing the own company and a display object representing each of the companies registered in the business partner management information, to create line segments as arrows connecting the display objects for each of the supply chains, directions of the arrows representing the supply chain relationship information, and to create the supply chain network diagram including the display objects and the line segments, this/these limitation(s) do(es) not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because it/they add(s) insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(g).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 16: With respect to the limitation the display control section is configured to create, for each of the supply chains, a line segment as an arrow from one display object representing a position of the buyer company toward another display object and a line segment as an arrow toward one display object representing a position of the supplier company from another display object to create the supply chain network diagram in which the line segments connect the display objects, this/these limitation(s) do(es) not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because it/they add(s) insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(g).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 17: With respect to the limitation the display control section is configured to display the insurance subscription status at the display object in the supply chain network diagram, this/these limitation(s) do(es) not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because it/they add(s) insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(g).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 18: With respect to wherein the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that each of the participating companies can register, through the terminal, supply chain relationship information with a company registered in the business partner management information for each of a single or a plurality of supply chains to which the own company belongs, further comprising a risk management section configured to refer to the business partner management information of the company registered in the business partner management information and to perform risk evaluation processing based on the supply chain relation information, the risk management section is configured to count the number of companies registered as the supplier companies across the different supply chains for each of the companies registered in the business partner management information, and to perform the risk evaluation based on the number of the companies registered as the supplier companies, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 19: With respect to the risk management section is configured to perform the risk evaluation processing based on the number of the companies registered as the supplier companies and the insurance subscription status, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 20: With respect to the limitation wherein the display control section is configured to perform control to visualize the insurance subscription status of the display object in the supply chain network diagram, this limitation does not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because it adds insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(g).
Accordingly, because the Step 2A Prong One and Prong Two analysis resulted in the conclusion that the claims are directed to an abstract idea, additional analysis under Step 2B of the eligibility inquiry must be conducted in order to determine whether any claim element or combination of elements amount to significantly more than the judicial exception.
Step 2B: The claims are analyzed to determine whether any additional element, or combination of additional elements, is/are sufficient to ensure that the claims amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. This analysis is also termed a search for "inventive concept." See MPEP 2106.05.
Regarding the computing additional elements, namely a portal management section, through the terminal, a business partner management section, and an invitation section from claim 1, and through the terminal from claim 13, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to add significantly more because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h). Therefore, the computing additional elements merely describe generic computing elements or computer-executable instructions (software) merely serve to tie the abstract idea to a particular operating environment, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. See, e.g., Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. 2347, 110 USPQ2d 1976; Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015).
With respect to the limitations and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the company information, and an approval control section configured to receive an enrollment approval in response to the invitation information from the terminal of the invited company, wherein the business partner management section is configured to register the invited company as a connected company in the business partner management information based on the enrollment approval from the invited company in response to the transmission of the invitation information to a company serving as the inviting company, to register the inviting company as a connected company in the business partner management information based on the enrollment approval to the inviting company in response to reception of the invitation information from an another company serving as the invited company, and to create the supply chain network based on the connected companies from claim 1, and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the company information, and a fourth function of receiving an enrollment approval in response to the invitation information from the terminal of the invited company, wherein the second function includes registering the invited company as a connected company in the business partner management information based on the enrollment approval from the invited company in response to the transmission of the invitation information to a company serving as the inviting company, registering, the inviting company as a connected company in the business partner management information based on the enrollment approval to the inviting company in response to reception of the invitation information from an another company serving as the invited company, and creating the supply chain network based on the connected companies from claim 13, this/these limitation(s) at most amount to insignificant extra-solution activity, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea, as noted in MPEP 2106.05(g). Additionally, the mere data gathering extra-solution activity have been recognized as well-understood, routine, and conventional, and thus insufficient to add significantly more to the abstract idea. See MPEP 2106.05(d) - Receiving or transmitting data over a network, e.g., using the Internet to gather data, Symantec, 838 F.3d at 1321, 120 USPQ2d at 1362 (utilizing an intermediary computer to forward information); TLI Communications LLC v. AV Auto. LLC, 823 F.3d 607, 610, 118 USPQ2d 1744, 1745 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (using a telephone for image transmission); OIP Techs., Inc., v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d 1359, 1363, 115 USPQ2d 1090, 1093 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (sending messages over a network); buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355, 112 USPQ2d 1093, 1096 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (computer receives and sends information over a network)).
Therefore, the additional elements of the independent claims, when considered both individually and in combination, are not sufficient to add significantly more to the claims.
Regarding the additional elements from claim 2: With respect to the business partner management section, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to add significantly more because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h). Therefore, the computing additional elements merely describe generic computing elements or computer-executable instructions (software) merely serve to tie the abstract idea to a particular operating environment, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. See, e.g., Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. 2347, 110 USPQ2d 1976; Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 3: With respect to the an own disclosure setting control section and an own company disclosure setting screen, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to add significantly more because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h). Therefore, the computing additional elements merely describe generic computing elements or computer-executable instructions (software) merely serve to tie the abstract idea to a particular operating environment, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. See, e.g., Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. 2347, 110 USPQ2d 1976; Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015).
With respect to the limitations the business partner management section is configured to store own company disclosure setting information associated with the invited company registered in the business partner management information of the inviting company and the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that the invited company having the own company disclosure setting information set to non- disclosure is not registered as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company, these activities at most amount to insignificant extra-solution activity, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea, as noted in MPEP 2106.05(g). Additionally, the mere data gathering extra-solution activity have been recognized as well-understood, routine, and conventional, and thus insufficient to add significantly more to the abstract idea. See MPEP 2106.05(d) - Receiving or transmitting data over a network, e.g., using the Internet to gather data, Symantec, 838 F.3d at 1321, 120 USPQ2d at 1362 (utilizing an intermediary computer to forward information); TLI Communications LLC v. AV Auto. LLC, 823 F.3d 607, 610, 118 USPQ2d 1744, 1745 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (using a telephone for image transmission); OIP Techs., Inc., v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d 1359, 1363, 115 USPQ2d 1090, 1093 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (sending messages over a network); buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355, 112 USPQ2d 1093, 1096 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (computer receives and sends information over a network)).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 4: With respect to the a disclosure setting control section and an invited company disclosure setting screen, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to add significantly more because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h). Therefore, the computing additional elements merely describe generic computing elements or computer-executable instructions (software) merely serve to tie the abstract idea to a particular operating environment, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. See, e.g., Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. 2347, 110 USPQ2d 1976; Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015).
With respect to the limitations the business partner management section is configured to store invited company disclosure setting information associated with the invited company registered in the business partner management information of the inviting company, and the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that the invited company having the invited company disclosure setting information set to non- disclosure is not registered as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company, these limitations fail to add significantly more because they add insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. These activities at most amount to insignificant extra-solution activity, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea, as noted in MPEP 2106.05(g). Additionally, the mere data gathering extra-solution activity have been recognized as well-understood, routine, and conventional, and thus insufficient to add significantly more to the abstract idea. See MPEP 2106.05(d) - Receiving or transmitting data over a network, e.g., using the Internet to gather data, Symantec, 838 F.3d at 1321, 120 USPQ2d at 1362 (utilizing an intermediary computer to forward information); TLI Communications LLC v. AV Auto. LLC, 823 F.3d 607, 610, 118 USPQ2d 1744, 1745 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (using a telephone for image transmission); OIP Techs., Inc., v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d 1359, 1363, 115 USPQ2d 1090, 1093 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (sending messages over a network); buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355, 112 USPQ2d 1093, 1096 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (computer receives and sends information over a network)).
Regarding claim 5: With respect to the a list registration section configured to perform white list registration processing of allowing registration in the business partner management information as the secondary connected company through the terminal or non-disclosure company list registration processing of not allowing registration in the business partner management information as the secondary connected company, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to add significantly more because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h). Therefore, the computing additional elements merely describe generic computing elements or computer-executable instructions (software) merely serve to tie the abstract idea to a particular operating environment, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. See, e.g., Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. 2347, 110 USPQ2d 1976; Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015).
With respect to wherein the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that only a company registered on a whitelist by the invited company can register the own company as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company or to perform control such that only a company registered on a non-disclosure company list by the invited company is not registered the own company as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company, these activities at most amount to insignificant extra-solution activity, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea, as noted in MPEP 2106.05(g). Additionally, the mere data gathering extra-solution activity have been recognized as well-understood, routine, and conventional, and thus insufficient to add significantly more to the abstract idea. See MPEP 2106.05(d) - Receiving or transmitting data over a network, e.g., using the Internet to gather data, Symantec, 838 F.3d at 1321, 120 USPQ2d at 1362 (utilizing an intermediary computer to forward information); TLI Communications LLC v. AV Auto. LLC, 823 F.3d 607, 610, 118 USPQ2d 1744, 1745 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (using a telephone for image transmission); OIP Techs., Inc., v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d 1359, 1363, 115 USPQ2d 1090, 1093 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (sending messages over a network); buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355, 112 USPQ2d 1093, 1096 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (computer receives and sends information over a network)).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 6: With respect to the a display control section configured to create a first display object of the own company, a second display object corresponding to the connected company of the own company, and a line segment connecting the first display object with the second display object, and to create the supply chain network diagram, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to add significantly more because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h). Therefore, the computing additional elements merely describe generic computing elements or computer-executable instructions (software) merely serve to tie the abstract idea to a particular operating environment, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. See, e.g., Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. 2347, 110 USPQ2d 1976; Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 7: With respect to the limitation further comprising a display control section configured to create a first display object of the own company, a second display object corresponding to the connected company of the own company, and a line segment connecting the first display object with the second display object, to create a third display object corresponding to the second connected company and a line segment connecting the second display object with the third display object, and to create the supply chain network diagram in which the second display object is placed around the first display object and the third display object is placed outside the second display object, this/these limitation(s) do(es) not add significantly more because it/they add(s) insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(g). See selecting information, based on types of information and availability of information in a power-grid environment, for collection, analysis and display, Electric Power Group, LLC v. Alstom S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1354-55, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1742 (Fed. Cir. 2016).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 8: With respect to the limitation wherein the display control section is configured to create, based on address information included in the company information, a supply chain network diagram of a map display type in which the display objects are displayed on a map, this/these limitation(s) do(es) not add significantly more because it/they add(s) insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(g). See selecting information, based on types of information and availability of information in a power-grid environment, for collection, analysis and display, Electric Power Group, LLC v. Alstom S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1354-55, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1742 (Fed. Cir. 2016).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 9: With respect to the business partner management section is configured to provide a business partner management screen on the terminal and has a function of searching the company information based on a search condition input on the business partner management screen, the business partner management section is configured to add a company searched for through the search function to the business partner management information as a business partner to be added, and the invitation section is configured to create the invitation information based on an operation for inviting the business partner to be added on the business partner management screen from the terminal and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the company information, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to add significantly more because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h). Therefore, the computing additional elements merely describe generic computing elements or computer-executable instructions (software) merely serve to tie the abstract idea to a particular operating environment, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. See, e.g., Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. 2347, 110 USPQ2d 1976; Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 10: With respect to wherein the business partner management section is configured to provide a company provisional registration screen on the terminal in response to no company found to match the search condition and to provisionally register a company in the business partner management information based on the company information input through the company provisional registration screen, the invitation section is configured to create the invitation information based on an operation for inviting the provisionally registered company on the business partner management screen from the terminal and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the provisionally registered company information, and the portal management section is configured to perform the user registration processing of the provisionally registered invited company in response to enrollment approval based on the invitation information and to register the company information of the provisionally registered invited company in the supply chain platform system, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to add significantly more because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h). Therefore, the computing additional elements merely describe generic computing elements or computer-executable instructions (software) merely serve to tie the abstract idea to a particular operating environment, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. See, e.g., Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. 2347, 110 USPQ2d 1976; Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 11: With respect to an information management section configured to receive information provided from the terminal of a company to each of the other companies and to provide the received information on the terminal of the company registered in the business partner management information, these activities at most amount to insignificant extra-solution activity, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea, as noted in MPEP 2106.05(g). Additionally, the mere data gathering extra-solution activity have been recognized as well-understood, routine, and conventional, and thus insufficient to add significantly more to the abstract idea. See MPEP 2106.05(d) - Receiving or transmitting data over a network, e.g., using the Internet to gather data, Symantec, 838 F.3d at 1321, 120 USPQ2d at 1362 (utilizing an intermediary computer to forward information); TLI Communications LLC v. AV Auto. LLC, 823 F.3d 607, 610, 118 USPQ2d 1744, 1745 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (using a telephone for image transmission); OIP Techs., Inc., v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d 1359, 1363, 115 USPQ2d 1090, 1093 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (sending messages over a network); buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355, 112 USPQ2d 1093, 1096 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (computer receives and sends information over a network)).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 12: With respect to an information acquiring section configured to acquire, from an external system capable of providing an amount of carbon dioxide emissions involved in company activities for each of the companies, the amount of carbon oxide emissions of each of the participating companies, a storage section configured to store sales information of the participating companies and trading results of the business partners constituting the sales information, a carbon dioxide emissions amount calculating section configured to extract, based on the business partner management information, the connected companies of the own company related to the trading results, to calculate a ratio of the trading results of each of the extracted connected companies to the sales information, and to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide emissions for each connected company by multiplexing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions by the ratio of each of the connected companies, these activities at most amount to insignificant extra-solution activity, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea, as noted in MPEP 2106.05(g). Additionally, the mere data gathering extra-solution activity have been recognized as well-understood, routine, and conventional, and thus insufficient to add significantly more to the abstract idea. See MPEP 2106.05(d) - Receiving or transmitting data over a network, e.g., using the Internet to gather data, Symantec, 838 F.3d at 1321, 120 USPQ2d at 1362 (utilizing an intermediary computer to forward information); TLI Communications LLC v. AV Auto. LLC, 823 F.3d 607, 610, 118 USPQ2d 1744, 1745 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (using a telephone for image transmission); OIP Techs., Inc., v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d 1359, 1363, 115 USPQ2d 1090, 1093 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (sending messages over a network); buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355, 112 USPQ2d 1093, 1096 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (computer receives and sends information over a network)).
With respect to an information management section configured to provide the amount of the carbon dioxide emissions of each of the companies on the terminal of the company registered as the connected company having business with the own company, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to add significantly more because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h). Therefore, the computing additional elements merely describe generic computing elements or computer-executable instructions (software) merely serve to tie the abstract idea to a particular operating environment, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. See, e.g., Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. 2347, 110 USPQ2d 1976; Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 14: With respect to wherein the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that each of the participating companies can register, through the terminal, supply chain relationship information with a company registered in the business partner management information for each of a single or a plurality of supply chains to which the own company belongs, further comprising a display control section configured to create the supply chain network diagram based on the business partner management information and the supply chain relationship information, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to add significantly more because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h). Therefore, the computing additional elements merely describe generic computing elements or computer-executable instructions (software) merely serve to tie the abstract idea to a particular operating environment, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. See, e.g., Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. 2347, 110 USPQ2d 1976; Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015).
With respect to the limitation wherein the display control section is configured to create a display object representing the own company and a display object representing each of the companies registered in the business partner management information, to create line segments connecting the display objects according to the supply chain relationship information across the different supply chains, and to create the supply chain network diagram including the display objects and the line segments, this/these limitation(s) do(es) not add significantly more because it/they add(s) insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(g). See selecting information, based on types of information and availability of information in a power-grid environment, for collection, analysis and display, Electric Power Group, LLC v. Alstom S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1354-55, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1742 (Fed. Cir. 2016).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 15: With respect to the limitation wherein the display control section is configured to create a display object representing the own company and a display object representing each of the companies registered in the business partner management information, to create line segments as arrows connecting the display objects for each of the supply chains, directions of the arrows representing the supply chain relationship information, and to create the supply chain network diagram including the display objects and the line segments, this/these limitation(s) do(es) not add significantly more because it/they add(s) insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(g). See selecting information, based on types of information and availability of information in a power-grid environment, for collection, analysis and display, Electric Power Group, LLC v. Alstom S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1354-55, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1742 (Fed. Cir. 2016).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 16: With respect to the limitation the display control section is configured to create, for each of the supply chains, a line segment as an arrow from one display object representing a position of the buyer company toward another display object and a line segment as an arrow toward one display object representing a position of the supplier company from another display object to create the supply chain network diagram in which the line segments connect the display objects, this/these limitation(s) do(es) not add significantly more because it/they add(s) insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(g). See selecting information, based on types of information and availability of information in a power-grid environment, for collection, analysis and display, Electric Power Group, LLC v. Alstom S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1354-55, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1742 (Fed. Cir. 2016).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 17: With respect to the limitation the display control section is configured to display the insurance subscription status at the display object in the supply chain network diagram, this/these limitation(s) do(es) not add significantly more because it/they add(s) insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(g). See selecting information, based on types of information and availability of information in a power-grid environment, for collection, analysis and display, Electric Power Group, LLC v. Alstom S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1354-55, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1742 (Fed. Cir. 2016).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 18: With respect to wherein the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that each of the participating companies can register, through the terminal, supply chain relationship information with a company registered in the business partner management information for each of a single or a plurality of supply chains to which the own company belongs, further comprising a risk management section configured to refer to the business partner management information of the company registered in the business partner management information and to perform risk evaluation processing based on the supply chain relation information, the risk management section is configured to count the number of companies registered as the supplier companies across the different supply chains for each of the companies registered in the business partner management information, and to perform the risk evaluation based on the number of the companies registered as the supplier companies, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to add significantly more because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h). Therefore, the computing additional elements merely describe generic computing elements or computer-executable instructions (software) merely serve to tie the abstract idea to a particular operating environment, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. See, e.g., Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. 2347, 110 USPQ2d 1976; Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 19: With respect to the risk management section is configured to perform the risk evaluation processing based on the number of the companies registered as the supplier companies and the insurance subscription status, this/these additional element(s) has/have been evaluated but fail(s) to add significantly more because it/they amount to using generic computing elements or instructions (software) to perform the abstract idea, similar to adding the words “apply it” (or equivalent), which merely serves to link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (generic computing environment). See MPEP 2106.05(f) and 2106.05(h). Therefore, the computing additional elements merely describe generic computing elements or computer-executable instructions (software) merely serve to tie the abstract idea to a particular operating environment, which does not add significantly more to the abstract idea. See, e.g., Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. 2347, 110 USPQ2d 1976; Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015).
Regarding the additional elements from claim 20: With respect to the limitation wherein the display control section is configured to perform control to visualize the insurance subscription status of the display object in the supply chain network diagram, this/these limitation(s) do(es) not add significantly more because it/they add(s) insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(g). See selecting information, based on types of information and availability of information in a power-grid environment, for collection, analysis and display, Electric Power Group, LLC v. Alstom S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1354-55, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1742 (Fed. Cir. 2016).
The ordered combination of elements in the dependent claims (including the limitations inherited from the parent claim(s)) add nothing that is not already present as when the elements are taken individually. There is no indication that the combination of elements improves the functioning of a computer or improves any other technology. Their collective functions merely provide generic computer implementation. Accordingly, the subject matter encompassed by the dependent claims fails to amount to a practical application or significantly more than the abstract idea itself.
Accordingly, claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 USC 101.
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.
Claims 1-2, 10-11, 13, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Makhija et al. (US 20220027826 A1, hereinafter “Makhija”), in view of Lopez (US 20240086803 A1, hereinafter “Lopez”).
Regarding claim 1: Makhija teaches:
an invitation section configured to set one of the participating companies registered in the company information as an invited company, ([Fig. 2] Recommending suppliers for the RFP on performance ratings, past savings and lead times 212);
to create invitation information including a request to the invited company for enrollment in the business partner management group of an inviting company, ([Fig. 2] Generating Questionnaire and price sheets specific to the category, industry and market landscape 214);
and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the company information; ([Fig. 2] Floating the RFP to selected Suppliers 215);
and an approval control section configured to receive an enrollment approval in response to the invitation information from the terminal of the invited company, ([Fig. 2] Approval through category workbench 224);
wherein the business partner management section is configured to register the invited company as a connected company in the business partner management information based on the enrollment approval from the invited company in response to the transmission of the invitation information to a company serving as the inviting company, to register the inviting company as a connected company in the business partner management information based on the enrollment approval to the inviting company in response to reception of the invitation information from an another company serving as the invited company, ([Fig. 3] Analyze new bids to recommend award decisions 222, Calculate Savings 223, [Fig. 4] Auto Contracts 414; [0141] In step 413, it is checked if saving is achieved then in step 414, the auto creation of contract is initiated with the selected supplier.);
and to create the supply chain network based on the connected companies. ([0010] The method also includes identifying one or more suppliers for executing the recommended strategy based on the object characteristic data set).
Makhija doesn’t explicitly teach:
a portal management section configured to perform processing of registering users of the supply chain platform system through the terminal and to register company information of each of the participating companies;
a business partner management section configured to assign a business partner management group to each of the participating companies
and to create business partner management information for each of the participating companies;
Lopez teaches:
a portal management section configured to perform processing of registering users of the supply chain platform system through the terminal and to register company information of each of the participating companies; ([0422] Once added, embodiments can have widgets so that another new User can be added.; [Fig. 8A] Customer Creation on Web Portal 800A; [Fig. 8B] Customer (Company) Information 801B, Customer User List 804B);
a business partner management section configured to assign a business partner management group to each of the participating companies ([Fig. 8A] Add/Edit Elements of Customer Company) and User Information 805A);
and to create business partner management information for each of the participating companies; ([Fig. 8A] For each new customer, account is created and info loaded into platform 801A; [0044] FIG. 8A is a process flowchart and block diagram listing for the steps to create/define/edit/search/sort/view elements of a Customer (company) record or account on the Platform's Database through the Portal.);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine Makhija with Lopez’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to enable cross-enterprise project monitoring, management, and reporting (Lopez; [Abstract]). By incorporating the teachings of Lopez, one would’ve been able to register users, assign groups and manage information for each participating company.
Regarding claim 2: Makhija teaches:
wherein the business partner management section is configured to refer to the business partner management information of a connected company registered in the business partner management information of an own company, ([0078] In step 212, recommending suppliers for the RFP on performance ratings, past savings and lead times.);
to register a connected company registered in the business partner management information of the connected company as a secondary connected company in the business partner management information of the own company, ([0057] In an exemplary embodiment, the AI engine 109 is coupled to the controller 108 encoded with instructions enabling the controller 108 to function as a bot for processing the sourcing request based on the parameters. The set of parameters include parameters that determine if the demand is a generated after expiry of a contract or a demand directly by the entity etc., The parameters may include entity name, existing contract details, pricing information, object procured, date of procurement, place, etc. It shall be understood to a person skilled in the art that the parameters may vary depending on the request and source of request like from an entity or auto generated request from an application after completion of an operation of the application or generation of an auto-set demand trigger through the application.);
and to create the supply chain network including the connected company having an invitation relationship based on the invitation information including the own company at the center and the secondary connected company having an invitation relationship based on the invitation information built by the connected company independently of the own company. ([0010] According to an embodiment, the present invention provides a method of autonomous sourcing in supply chain management. The method includes receiving a demand from at least one data source, triggering a sourcing module through a category workbench user interface for initiating at least one task based on the received demand, processing by an AI engine coupled to a processor, a plurality of historical data from a data lake based on one or more data models to generate code for a recommended strategy through prediction analysis, injecting by an intelligent bot, aggregated data patterns related to one or more object categories into the recommended sourcing strategy for generating at least one object characteristic data set. The method also includes identifying one or more suppliers for executing the recommended strategy based on the object characteristic data set; and encapsulating one or more recommended awarding scenario on the category workbench user interface for selection. The method includes receiving a response to a questionnaire based on the object characteristic data set from one or more recommended suppliers for identifying the one or more suppliers. The questionnaire is generated by the AI engine configured to process a historical query knowledge database based on a plurality of parameters and the object characteristic data set. The method also includes the step of injecting by a bot, one or more impact parameters capable of modifying at least one of the actionable insights, the recommended strategy, the data patterns or the awarding scenario. Further, the method includes recommending a negotiation strategy through an auto-negotiator based on a negotiation script generated by the AI engine wherein the awarding scenario is encapsulated based on execution of the negotiation strategy.).
Regarding claim 10: Makhija teaches:
wherein the business partner management section is configured to provide a company provisional registration screen on the terminal in response to no company found to match the search condition and to provisionally register a company in the business partner management information based on the company information input through the company provisional registration screen, ([0078] a method of sourcing and category management is provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The method includes the steps of 201 receive a demand from a data source such as a plant maintenance team, through expired contracts etc. at a server. In step 202 a category workbench receives information related to the demand and in 203 a sourcing module is triggered on the category workbench application interface for initiating at least one task… if no contracts are found then recommending new strategy to be added to the workbench.);
the invitation section is configured to create the invitation information based on an operation for inviting the provisionally registered company on the business partner management screen from the terminal and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the provisionally registered company information, ([0078] In step 213 approving or adding supplier through workbench… In step 212, recommending suppliers for the RFP on performance ratings, past savings and lead times… In step 215 floating the RFP to selected suppliers).
Makhija doesn’t explicitly teach:
and the portal management section is configured to perform the user registration processing of the provisionally registered invited company in response to enrollment approval based on the invitation information and to register the company information of the provisionally registered invited company in the supply chain platform system.
Lopez teaches:
and the portal management section is configured to perform the user registration processing of the provisionally registered invited company in response to enrollment approval based on the invitation information ([0202] during the writeup of a contract in other embodiments, the Customer account or record is created (801A).; [0203] Embodiments of the Platform allow the Customer account information or record to be loaded onto the Platform's Database by a number of means (802A) including manual entry, using an application programming interface (API) to “hook” into a Database, comma-separated value (CSV) formatted files to facilitate automated string parsing and record field populating, and more. Other embodiments where individuals are the Customers can be through scanning the Customer's identification card and using object character recognition (OCR) and string parsing software to populate the Customer account or record. Examiner notes that one of ordinary skill in the art would reasonably consider registering a company during the writeup of a contract to be provisional.);
and to register the company information of the provisionally registered invited company in the supply chain platform system. ([0202] 15A) Establishing Customer (Company) Record (Ref. FIG. 8A): After a purchase order or contract has been signed between the Vendor and Customer, or during the writeup of a contract in other embodiments, the Customer account or record is created (801A). If the usage embodiment of the Platform caters to Customers that are organizations or companies (e.g., business-to-business), a company account or record is created. Examiner notes that one of ordinary skill in the art would reasonably consider registering a company during the writeup of a contract to be provisional.);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Lopez’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to enable cross-enterprise project monitoring, management, and reporting (Lopez; [Abstract]). By incorporating the teachings of Lopez, one would’ve been able to register provisional suppliers as members in the supply chain network.
Regarding claim 11: Makhija doesn’t explicitly teach:
further comprising an information management section configured to receive information provided from the terminal of a company to each of the other companies and to provide the received information on the terminal of the company registered in the business partner management information.
Lopez teaches:
further comprising an information management section configured to receive information provided from the terminal of a company to each of the other companies and to provide the received information on the terminal of the company registered in the business partner management information. ([0203] Embodiments of the Platform allow the Customer account information or record to be loaded onto the Platform's Database by a number of means (802A); [0204] After the basic Customer account information has been loaded, application usage embodiments catering to Customer organizations can have additional record fields specified and/or subsequently modified; if necessary, more identifying information (803A, 804A, 805A) The box of elements (805A) is an embodiment summarizing what Customer information can be part of the record, including the company name and logo (806A), address (807A), Email tied to the main organization account (808A), telephone numbers (809A), and assigned Team member User details (810A and 811A) affiliated with the Customer such as Platform Role-based Permissions, name, contact information, an opt-out toggle that precludes the particular individual from receiving project notifications, the User's Role and corresponding Permissions within the Customer organization, the User's title, and status on the Project (e.g., active). [0205] 15B) Customer Account Dashboard (Ref. FIGS. 8A and 8B): After a Customer's account is established (800A), the Platform creates an accessible Customer Account Dashboard (800B) that stores and displays on the Portal (200) all relevant customer account information that is stored in the Platform's Database. Embodiments of the Platform can have the Customer Account Dashboard (800B) viewable by eligible Users on both the Vendor and Customer sides. This component is intended for certain Users to review Customer-specific information in an organized and compact manner. This Customer Account Dashboard (800B) also serves as the top-level pointer to more detailed information for widgets or User-interactive information fields with jump links to other parts of the Portal (200) to provide more context and details. Editable information that is displayed includes the Customer's contact information (801B), widgets to add Users (802B), the status of all the Customer's Projects (803B), the list of Vendor-side Users to fulfill the Tasks (804B), list of Overdue Action Items (805B), Projects each Vendor-side User is assigned to (806B), and a list of all Projects under this Customer (807B). [0206] 16) Establishing the Project Record (Ref. FIGS. 8A and 9A): After a Customer's account or record has been created (800A), the next step is to define the Project on the Platform.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Lopez’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to allow eligible users to create and manage project information records (Lopez; [Abstract]). By incorporating the teachings of Lopez, one would’ve been able to receive, manage and display relevant information to all parties in the system.
Regarding claim 13: Makhija teaches:
A non-transitory computer readable medium including a computer executable program comprising instructions executable by a computer capable of communication with terminals of companies participating in a supply chain [0020] The product includes a computer readable storage medium readable by a processor and storing instructions for execution by the processor for performing sourcing and category management method in supply chain.);
to crate invitation information including a request to the invited company for enrollment in the business partner management group of an inviting company, and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the company information; ([0078] In step 212, recommending suppliers for the RFP on performance ratings, past savings and lead times. In step 213 approving or adding supplier through workbench, and in 214 generating questionnaire and price sheets specific to the category, industry and market landscape. For executing the method, AI engine coupled to the controller enables the controller to function as a bot to create Price sheet for bids with target price for each object, identifies and inject implicit or explicit constraints such as constraint on Volume, Delivery, region etc. The bot also creates a questionnaire for object categories and recommends suppliers through processing of historical data, impact parameters and response received to the questionnaire. The AI engine enables creation of data scripts for processing multiple tasks including generation of relevant questionnaire, supplier recommendation, optimization, and object characteristic data set. In step 215 floating the RFP to selected suppliers);
and a fourth function of receiving an enrollment approval in response to the invitation information from the terminal of the invited company, ([0078] receiving supplier response in 216);
and creating the supply chain network based on the connected companies. ([Fig. 3B]; [0027] FIG. 3B is a table showing supplier score and ranking for the example scenario in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.).
Makhija doesn’t explicitly teach:
a first function of performing processing of registering users through the terminal and registering company information of each of the participating companies;
a second function of assigning a business partner management group to each of the participating companies and to create business partner management information for each of the participating companies;
a third function of setting one of the participating companies registered in the company information as an invited company,
wherein the second function includes registering the invited company as a connected company in the business partner management information based on the enrollment approval from the invited company in response to the transmission of the invitation information to a company serving as the inviting company, registering, the inviting company as a connected company in the business partner management information based on the enrollment approval to the inviting company in response to reception of the invitation information from an another company serving as the invited company,
Lopez teaches:
a first function of performing processing of registering users through the terminal and registering company information of each of the participating companies; ([0203] Embodiments of the Platform allow the Customer account information or record to be loaded onto the Platform's Database by a number of means (802A) including manual entry, using an application programming interface (API) to “hook” into a Database, comma-separated value (CSV) formatted files to facilitate automated string parsing and record field populating, and more. Other embodiments where individuals are the Customers can be through scanning the Customer's identification card and using object character recognition (OCR) and string parsing software to populate the Customer account or record.);
a second function of assigning a business partner management group to each of the participating companies and to create business partner management information for each of the participating companies; ([Fig. 4] Assign/Edit Project Team and Customer Users 407; [0194] assign/edit Users of the Project Team on the Vendor and Customer side);
a third function of setting one of the participating companies registered in the company information as an invited company, ([Fig. 4] Create Company Account 403);
wherein the second function includes registering the invited company as a connected company in the business partner management information based on the enrollment approval from the invited company in response to the transmission of the invitation information to a company serving as the inviting company, ([0202] 15A) Establishing Customer (Company) Record (Ref. FIG. 8A): After a purchase order or contract has been signed between the Vendor and Customer, or during the writeup of a contract in other embodiments, the Customer account or record is created (801A). If the usage embodiment of the Platform caters to Customers that are organizations or companies (e.g., business-to-business), a company account or record is created.);
registering, the inviting company as a connected company in the business partner management information based on the enrollment approval to the inviting company in response to reception of the invitation information from an another company serving as the invited company, ([Fig. 4] Create Company Account; [0202] 15A) Establishing Customer (Company) Record (Ref. FIG. 8A): After a purchase order or contract has been signed between the Vendor and Customer, or during the writeup of a contract in other embodiments, the Customer account or record is created (801A). If the usage embodiment of the Platform caters to Customers that are organizations or companies (e.g., business-to-business), a company account or record is created.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Lopez’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to enable cross-enterprise project monitoring, management, and reporting (Lopez; [Abstract]). By incorporating the teachings of Lopez, one would’ve been able to register companies as members in the supply chain network.
Regarding claim 18: Makhija teaches:
wherein the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that each of the participating companies can register, through the terminal, supply chain relationship information with a company registered in the business partner management information for each of a single or a plurality of supply chains to which the own company belongs, ([Fig. 3B] Table 300B: Supplier_Name_Norm, Orgs catered to, Total_Spend, No. of Transactions, Rating, Risk Rating, Diversity, Rank; [0128] These attributes are the supplier name, PO description, GL, description, invoice description and materials descriptions as shown in Table 300D; [0140] Referring to FIG. 3K, a table 300K depicting item to category mapping);
further comprising a risk management section configured to refer to the business partner management information of the company registered in the business partner management information and to perform risk evaluation processing based on the supply chain relation information, ([Fig. 2] Recommending suppliers for the RFP on performance ratings, past savings and lead times);
wherein the supply chain relationship information includes a buyer company and a supplier company, ([0095] In an embodiment, the present invention provides the autonomous sourcing method that includes bid optimization through analysis of constraints. In procurement industry, a buyer would like to procure a number of items across multiple suppliers who are willing to furnish them at different prices (bid price).);
the risk management section is configured to count the number of companies registered as the supplier companies across the different supply chains for each of the companies registered in the business partner management information, ([0126] The Supplier score and ranking is shown in table 300B in FIG. 3B. Examiner notes that one of ordinary skill in the art would reasonably interpret the list of suppliers in Fig. 3B as a sample total number of suppliers from which companies select suppliers from.);
and to perform the risk evaluation based on the number of the companies registered as the supplier companies. ([0125] The AI engine is configured for processing data based on plurality of attributes/criteria including but not limited to Spend data across different organizations for each category, Total spend for each category for each organization, Number of organizations served by the supplier, Coverage: Number of items in each category catered for each supplier, Firmographic attributes: Total Revenue, profits, number of employees, regions operating in, contact information (emails, Phone number, Key people), diversity status etc., Supplier Rating as rated by organizations in that industry, Activity like Number of bids/auctions invited, awarded to, Supplier Risk rating and number of transactions etc.).
Claims 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Makhija et al. (US 20220027826 A1, hereinafter “Makhija”), in view of Lopez (US 20240086803 A1, hereinafter “Lopez”), as applied to claims 1 and 2 above, in further view of Mahaffey et al. (US 20190303586 A1, hereinafter Mahaffey).
Regarding claim 3: Makhija teaches:
further comprising an own disclosure setting control section configured to perform own company disclosure setting processing of setting whether or not a company allows itself to be registered as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company, ([0089] In an example embodiment, as part of the recommended strategy, the system analyzes multiple contracts with different suppliers of item/object for a particular plant/location. The system adds this to the list of criteria for recommending sourcing strategy. In some of the contracts, the price is within the system recommended range and the systems recommends through the category workbench to consolidate supply with these suppliers and connect with them.).
Makhija doesn’t teach:
wherein the own disclosure setting control section is configured to provide an own company disclosure setting screen including options of disclosure, anonymous disclosure, and non-disclosure,
the business partner management section is configured to store own company disclosure setting information associated with the invited company registered in the business partner management information of the inviting company,
and the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that the invited company having the own company disclosure setting information set to non-disclosure is not registered as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company.
Mahaffey teaches:
wherein the own disclosure setting control section is configured to provide an own company disclosure setting screen including options of disclosure, anonymous disclosure, and non-disclosure, ([0854] enterprise 6510 does not wish to share information 6505 with enterprise 6530; [0867] an enterprise may put conditions on their participation in the risk information system regarding with which other participants they share information, on the levels of information shared, and on participation being anonymous);
the business partner management section is configured to store own company disclosure setting information associated with the invited company registered in the business partner management information of the inviting company, ([0432] The server 3551 may explicitly store the grouped relationship on server 3551 or in data storage 3511 to efficiently access the grouping information during analysis.; [0845] FIG. 65 is a graphical depiction of an example of a relationship profile 6500 for an enterprise 6510. In FIG. 65, enterprise 6510 is shown with relationships 6515 and 6525 with other enterprises 6520 and 6530, respectively. Enterprises 6510, 6520, and 6530 may be the respective enterprises of administrators 6410a-c, networks 6420a-c, and fleets 6430a-c, of FIG. 64. Administrator 6410a (FIG. 64) may have created profile 6500 for enterprise 6510. In FIG. 65, relationships 6515 and 6525 indicate whether enterprise 6510 is willing to share information 6505 (e.g., information related to risks, risk events, or types of risks, and risk responses) with enterprises 6520 and 6530. Relationship profile 6500 with relationships 6515 and 6525 may be stored in relationship database 6440 (FIG. 64).);
and the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that the invited company having the own company disclosure setting information set to non-disclosure is not registered as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company. ([0207] In an embodiment, a variation of the above steps may be performed when service provider 950 directly requests access to device 901, but device 901 passes the request to server 911. In this embodiment, the steps of checking whether security state information for device 901 is updated (step 1403), obtaining device 901's security state information (step 1405), assessing device 901's security state (step 1407) then granting (step 1413) or denying (step 1411) service provider 950 access to device 901 may be all be performed by server 911.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Mahaffey’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to conditionally granting access to service levels (Mahaffey; [Abstract]). By incorporating the teachings of Mahaffey, one would’ve been able to control access to disclosures and company services.
Regarding claim 4: Makhija doesn’t explicitly teach:
further comprising a disclosure setting control section configured to perform invited company disclosure setting processing of setting whether or not the inviting company allows the invited company to be registered as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company,
wherein the disclosure setting control section is configured to provide an invited company disclosure setting screen including options of disclosure, anonymous disclosure, and non-disclosure,
the business partner management section is configured to store invited company disclosure setting information associated with the invited company registered in the business partner management information of the inviting company, and
the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that the invited company having the invited company disclosure setting information set to non- disclosure is not registered as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company.
Mahaffey teaches:
further comprising a disclosure setting control section configured to perform invited company disclosure setting processing of setting whether or not the inviting company allows the invited company to be registered as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company, ([0193] One will also appreciate that the method for granting access or processing requests for access may be performed in whole or in part by service provider);
wherein the disclosure setting control section is configured to provide an invited company disclosure setting screen including options of disclosure, anonymous disclosure, and non-disclosure, ([0854] enterprise 6510 does not wish to share information 6505 with enterprise 6530; [0867] an enterprise may put conditions on their participation in the risk information system regarding with which other participants they share information, on the levels of information shared, and on participation being anonymous);
the business partner management section is configured to store invited company disclosure setting information associated with the invited company registered in the business partner management information of the inviting company, ([0432] The server 3551 may explicitly store the grouped relationship on server 3551 or in data storage 3511 to efficiently access the grouping information during analysis.; [0845] FIG. 65 is a graphical depiction of an example of a relationship profile 6500 for an enterprise 6510. In FIG. 65, enterprise 6510 is shown with relationships 6515 and 6525 with other enterprises 6520 and 6530, respectively. Enterprises 6510, 6520, and 6530 may be the respective enterprises of administrators 6410a-c, networks 6420a-c, and fleets 6430a-c, of FIG. 64. Administrator 6410a (FIG. 64) may have created profile 6500 for enterprise 6510. In FIG. 65, relationships 6515 and 6525 indicate whether enterprise 6510 is willing to share information 6505 (e.g., information related to risks, risk events, or types of risks, and risk responses) with enterprises 6520 and 6530. Relationship profile 6500 with relationships 6515 and 6525 may be stored in relationship database 6440 (FIG. 64).);
and the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that the invited company having the invited company disclosure setting information set to non- disclosure is not registered as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company. ([0207] In an embodiment, a variation of the above steps may be performed when service provider 950 directly requests access to device 901, but device 901 passes the request to server 911. In this embodiment, the steps of checking whether security state information for device 901 is updated (step 1403), obtaining device 901's security state information (step 1405), assessing device 901's security state (step 1407) then granting (step 1413) or denying (step 1411) service provider 950 access to device 901 may be all be performed by server 911.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Mahaffey’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to conditionally granting access to service levels (Mahaffey; [Abstract]). By incorporating the teachings of Mahaffey, one would’ve been able to control access to disclosures and company services.
Regarding claim 5: Makhija doesn’t teach:
further comprising a list registration section configured to perform whitelist registration processing of allowing registration in the business partner management information as the secondary connected company through the terminal or non-disclosure company list registration processing of not allowing registration in the business partner management information as the secondary connected company,
wherein the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that only a company registered on a whitelist by the invited company can register the own company as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company or to perform control such that only a company registered on a non-disclosure company list by the invited company is not registered the own company as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company.
Mahaffey teaches:
further comprising a list registration section configured to perform whitelist registration processing of allowing registration in the business partner management information as the secondary connected company through the terminal or non-disclosure company list registration processing of not allowing registration in the business partner management information as the secondary connected company, ([0341] an assessment may include a determination that an application is malicious or non-malicious, bad or good, unsafe or safe, or that an application may appear on a blacklist or whitelist.; [0515] server-side or “cloud” analysis may be performed using a version of the three-component system described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/255,621, which is incorporated in full herein. An example of a three-component system is illustrated in FIG. 43 and includes a first component 4303 that may be used to recognize data that is safe, or “known good” (also referred to herein as forming part of or being included on a “whitelist”).);
wherein the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that only a company registered on a whitelist by the invited company can register the own company as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company or to perform control such that only a company registered on a non-disclosure company list by the invited company is not registered the own company as the secondary connected company in the business partner management information of another company. ([0207] a variation of the above steps may be performed when service provider 950 directly requests access to device 901, but device 901 passes the request to server 911. In this embodiment, the steps of checking whether security state information for device 901 is updated (step 1403), obtaining device 901's security state information (step 1405), assessing device 901's security state (step 1407) then granting (step 1413) or denying (step 1411) service provider 950 access to device 901 may be all be performed by server 911.; [0581] an administrator may wish to only allow particular applications by creating a whitelist, blocking all applications not on the whitelist.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Mahaffey’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to send a notification in the case of an application that is present on a blacklist or whitelist (Mahaffey; [0595]). By incorporating the teachings of Mahaffey, one would’ve been able to grant or deny registration to establish a business partnership.
Claims 6-9, 14-17, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Makhija et al. (US 20220027826 A1, hereinafter “Makhija”), in view of Lopez (US 20240086803 A1, hereinafter “Lopez”), as applied to claims 1, 2 and 18 above, in further view of Vakil et al. (US 9721294 B1, hereinafter “Vakil”).
Regarding claim 6: Makhija doesn’t teach:
further comprising a display control section configured to create a first display object of the own company,
a second display object corresponding to the connected company of the own company,
and a line segment connecting the first display object with the second display object, and to create the supply chain network diagram.
Vakil teaches:
further comprising a display control section configured to create a first display object of the own company, ([Fig. 13] Customer Alpha Org);
a second display object corresponding to the connected company of the own company, ([Fig. 13] Supplier Org);
and a line segment connecting the first display object with the second display object, and to create the supply chain network diagram. ([Fig. 13] arrow connecting Customer Alpha Org and Supplier Org: Supplier Parts sent, Parts info received).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Vakil’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to illustrate user access and security practices followed by the embodiment of FIG. 5 to maintain confidentiality of customer information (Vakil; [Column 7, Lines 51-53]). By incorporating the teachings of Vakil, one would’ve been able to display a diagram of the supply chain network.
Regarding claim 7: Makhija doesn’t explicitly teach:
further comprising a display control section configured to create a first display object of the own company,
a second display object corresponding to the connected company of the own company,
and a line segment connecting the first display object with the second display object, to create a third display object corresponding to the second connected company
and a line segment connecting the second display object with the third display object,
and to create the supply chain network diagram in which the second display object is placed around the first display object and the third display object is placed outside the second display object.
Vakil teches:
further comprising a display control section configured to create a first display object of the own company, ([Fig. 13] Customer Alpha Org);
a second display object corresponding to the connected company of the own company, ([Fig. 13] Supplier Org);
and a line segment connecting the first display object with the second display object, to create a third display object corresponding to the second connected company ([Fig. 13] Arrow connecting Customer Alpha Org and Supplier Org – Supplier Parts sent, Parts info received);
and a line segment connecting the second display object with the third display object, ([Fig. 13] Arrow connecting Supplier Org with Supplier N User);
and to create the supply chain network diagram in which the second display object is placed around the first display object and the third display object is placed outside the second display object. ([Fig. 13]; [Column 7, Lines 51-53] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating user access and security practices followed by the embodiment of FIG. 5 to maintain confidentiality of customer information. A feature of this implementation is to protect a particular partner's data from being viewed or obtained by another partner.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Vakil’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so for illustrating user access and security practices followed by the embodiment of FIG. 5 to maintain confidentiality of customer information (Vakil; [Column 7, Lines 51-53]). By incorporating the teachings of Vakil, one would’ve been able to display a diagram of the supply chain network.
Regarding claim 8: Makhija doesn’t teach:
wherein the display control section is configured to create, based on address information included in the company information, a supply chain network diagram of a map display type in which the display objects are displayed on a map.
Vakil teaches:
wherein the display control section is configured to create, based on address information included in the company information, a supply chain network diagram of a map display type in which the display objects are displayed on a map. (Vakil et al. US 9721294 B1 [Fig. 3]; [Column 13, Lines 58-67] FIG. 3 is a representation of yet another user report, in this case a map showing the regional distribution of supplier locations, wherein sites in each distinct region are grouped together in circles. The mapping feature can be accessed to display considerable classes of information. A user can filter the sites for a specific product, supplier, country or part, so as to see in a visually appealing way what regional dependencies are built into the enterprise's supply chain. Zooming into a region will open up pins that are located in specific places to identify a specific site.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Vakil’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to bring up additional information about the specific site, type of activities, number of single sourced parts, recovery time, location risk score, revenue impact, supplier and sub-contractor names etc (Vakil; [Column 13, Line 67-Column 14, Line 4). By incorporating the teachings of Vakil, one would’ve been able to enable members to create a supply chain network diagram.
Regarding claim 9: Makhija doesn’t teach:
wherein the business partner management section is configured to provide a business partner management screen on the terminal and has a function of searching the company information based on a search condition input on the business partner management screen,
the business partner management section is configured to add a company searched for through the search function to the business partner management information as a business partner to be added,
and the invitation section is configured to create the invitation information based on an operation for inviting the business partner to be added on the business partner management screen from the terminal and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the company information.
Vakil teaches:
wherein the business partner management section is configured to provide a business partner management screen on the terminal and has a function of searching the company information based on a search condition input on the business partner management screen, ([Column 16, Lines 58-65] A user from customer Alpha logs into the Acme org and uploads products, parts used in the products, names of partners that manufacture these parts, inventory details about the parts, product groups and product accounts. The Analytics module processes this information and creates a list of partners and their parts.);
the business partner management section is configured to add a company searched for through the search function to the business partner management information as a business partner to be added, ([Column 16, Line 63-Column 17, Line 4] Because Foxtrot has approved sharing its data with Alpha, the Alpha org transmits a list of Foxtrot parts to the Resilinc org. The Analytics engine in the Master org processes the request for information about Foxtrot's parts. It goes through all of Foxtrot's data, and complies a set of data related Foxtrot's sites and activities that process the list of parts provided by Alpha. This data is then transmitted to the Alpha org.);
and the invitation section is configured to create the invitation information based on an operation for inviting the business partner to be added on the business partner management screen from the terminal and to transmit the invitation information to a destination based on the company information. ([Column 16, Lines 40-41] A request to create this new partner is automatically transmitted to the Master org.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Vakil’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so, so the customer request is matched with the partner (Vakil; [Column 16, Lines 47-48]). By incorporating the teachings of Vakil, one would’ve been able to enable members to perform searches and access company information.
Regarding claim 14: Makhija teaches:
wherein the business partner management section is configured to perform control such that each of the participating companies can register, through the terminal, supply chain relationship information with a company registered in the business partner management information for each of a single or a plurality of supply chains to which the own company belongs, ([Fig. 3B] Table 300B: Supplier_Name_Norm, Orgs catered to, Total_Spend, No. of Transactions, Rating, Risk Rating, Diversity, Rank; [0128] These attributes are the supplier name, PO description, GL, description, invoice description and materials descriptions as shown in Table 300D; [0140] Referring to FIG. 3K, a table 300K depicting item to category mapping);
Makhija doesn’t explicitly teach:
further comprising a display control section configured to create the supply chain network diagram based on the business partner management information and the supply chain relationship information, wherein the display control section is configured to create a display object representing the own company
and a display object representing each of the companies registered in the business partner management information, to create line segments connecting the display objects according to the supply chain relationship information across the different supply chains,
and to create the supply chain network diagram including the display objects and the line segments.
Vakil teaches:
further comprising a display control section configured to create the supply chain network diagram based on the business partner management information and the supply chain relationship information, ([Column 7, Lines 51-53] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating user access and security practices followed by the embodiment of FIG. 5 to maintain confidentiality of customer information. A feature of this implementation is to protect a particular partner's data from being viewed or obtained by another partner.);
wherein the display control section is configured to create a display object representing the own company ([Fig. 13] Customer Alpha Org);
and a display object representing each of the companies registered in the business partner management information, ([Fig. 13] Supplier Org);
to create line segments connecting the display objects according to the supply chain relationship information across the different supply chains, ([Fig. 13] Arrow connecting Customer Alpha Org and Supplier Org – Supplier Parts sent, Parts info received, Arrow connecting Supplier Org with Supplier N User);
and to create the supply chain network diagram including the display objects and the line segments. ([Fig. 13]; [Column 7, Lines 51-53] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating user access and security practices followed by the embodiment of FIG. 5 to maintain confidentiality of customer information. A feature of this implementation is to protect a particular partner's data from being viewed or obtained by another partner.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Vakil’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to illustrate user access and security practices followed by the embodiment of FIG. 5 to maintain confidentiality of customer information (Vakil; [Column 7, Lines 51-53]). By incorporating the teachings of Vakil, one would’ve been able to display a diagram of the supply chain network.
Regarding claim 15: Makhija doesn’t teach:
wherein the display control section is configured to create a display object representing the own company and a display object representing each of the companies registered in the business partner management information,
to create line segments as arrows connecting the display objects for each of the supply chains, directions of the arrows representing the supply chain relationship information,
and to create the supply chain network diagram including the display objects and the line segments.
Vakil teaches:
wherein the display control section is configured to create a display object representing the own company ([Fig. 13] Customer Alpha Org);
and a display object representing each of the companies registered in the business partner management information, ([Fig. 13] Supplier Org);
to create line segments as arrows connecting the display objects for each of the supply chains, directions of the arrows representing the supply chain relationship information, ([Fig. 13] Arrow connecting Customer Alpha Org and Supplier Org – Supplier Parts sent, Parts info received, Arrow connecting Supplier Org with Supplier N User);
and to create the supply chain network diagram including the display objects and the line segments. ([Fig. 13]; [Column 7, Lines 51-53] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating user access and security practices followed by the embodiment of FIG. 5 to maintain confidentiality of customer information. A feature of this implementation is to protect a particular partner's data from being viewed or obtained by another partner.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Vakil’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to illustrate user access and security practices followed by the embodiment of FIG. 5 to maintain confidentiality of customer information (Vakil; [Column 7, Lines 51-53]). By incorporating the teachings of Vakil, one would’ve been able to display a diagram of the supply chain network.
Regarding claim 16: Makhija teaches:
wherein the supply chain relationship information includes a buyer company and a supplier company, ([0095] In an embodiment, the present invention provides the autonomous sourcing method that includes bid optimization through analysis of constraints. In procurement industry, a buyer would like to procure a number of items across multiple suppliers who are willing to furnish them at different prices (bid price). The objective is to meet this demand, target quantity (number of units), for each such item across multiple suppliers with cheapest possible cost. However, not every supplier would be furnishing all the items required by the buyer, hence there will be a need to work with multiple suppliers.).
Makhija doesn’t explicitly teach:
the line segment corresponds to an arrow pointing from the buyer company toward the supplier company,
and the display control section is configured to create, for each of the supply chains, a line segment as an arrow from one display object representing a position of the buyer company toward another display object and a line segment as an arrow toward one display object representing a position of the supplier company from another display object to create the supply chain network diagram in which the line segments connect the display objects.
Vakil teaches:
the line segment corresponds to an arrow pointing from the buyer company toward the supplier company, ([Fig. 13] Arrow connecting the buyer (Customer Alpha Org) with the supplier (Supplier Org).);
and the display control section is configured to create, for each of the supply chains, a line segment as an arrow from one display object representing a position of the buyer company toward another display object ([Fig. 13] Arrow connecting the buyer (Customer Alpha Org) with the supplier (Supplier Org).);
and a line segment as an arrow toward one display object representing a position of the supplier company from another display object to create the supply chain network diagram in which the line segments connect the display objects. ([Fig. 13] Arrow connecting the supplier (Supplier Org) with another object (Supplier N User).);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Vakil’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to illustrate user access and security practices followed by the embodiment of FIG. 5 to maintain confidentiality of customer information (Vakil; [Column 7, Lines 51-53]). By incorporating the teachings of Vakil, one would’ve been able to display a diagram of the supply chain network with arrows connecting different objects in the supply chain diagram.
Regarding claim 17: Makhija doesn’t teach:
wherein the company information includes an insurance subscription status,
and the display control section is configured to display the insurance subscription status at the display object in the supply chain network diagram.
Vakil teaches:
wherein the company information includes an insurance subscription status, ([Table 1] Recovery Risk Scoring, Field: Partner_c.Insurance_c, Score: 1; [Column 22, Lines 25-43] In computing the Recovery risk score, the parent or first level has a score of 1 for a Yes answer, and 0 for a No answer or for no response.);
and the display control section is configured to display the insurance subscription status at the display object in the supply chain network diagram. ([Fig. 16] Partner Data in the Tool, Recovery Risk Score; [Column 22, Lines 25-43] The “Recovery risk score” is based on the survey data collected at Site and Partner level. The methods are as follows. For the Site level: The survey questions are laid out in levels, with each level dependent on the previous level. For example, consider the BCP section. “Does your site have a written business continuity plan (BCP)” (Site_c.BCP_Plan_c) is the parent field. “Have you documented personnel at this site that will activate your BCP and execute on the recovery plan?” (Site_c.BCP_Personnel_c) is the second level, and a child of Site_c.BCP_Plan_c. And “Are these responders trained to activate your BCP and execute on the recovery plans?” (Site_c.BCP_Personnel_Trained_c) is the third level and a child of Site_c.BCP_Personnel_c. In computing the Recovery risk score, the parent or first level has a score of 1 for a Yes answer, and 0 for a No answer or for no response. The second level has a score of 0.1 for a Yes answer, and 0 for a No answer or for no response. The third level has a score of 0.01 for a Yes answer, and 0 for a No answer or for no response.; ([Table 1] Recovery Risk Scoring, Field: Partner_c.Insurance_c, Score: 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Vakil’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to compute Recovery Risk Score including Insurance at the Partner, Site and Part level (Vakil; [Column 22, Line 24]). By incorporating the teachings of Vakil, one would’ve been able to determine and display insurance subscription status.
Regarding claim 19: Makhija doesn’t explicitly teach:
wherein the company information includes an insurance subscription status,
and the risk management section is configured to perform the risk evaluation processing based on the number of the companies registered as the supplier companies and the insurance subscription status.
Vakil teaches:
wherein the company information includes an insurance subscription status, ([Table 1] Recovery Risk Scoring, Field: Partner_c.Insurance_c, Score: 1; [Column 22, Lines 25-43] In computing the Recovery risk score, the parent or first level has a score of 1 for a Yes answer, and 0 for a No answer or for no response.);
and the risk management section is configured to perform the risk evaluation processing based on the number of the companies registered as the supplier companies and the insurance subscription status. ([Column 10, Lines 47-49] A “partner” (also called a “supplier”) is a business organization that supplies, manufactures, stores or distributes parts, subassemblies or raw materials to the enterprise.; [Column 22, Lines 21-24] There are four scores to be computed: the “Recovery risk score,” the “Location risk score,” the “Financial risk score,” and the overall “Risk score.” These scores are computed at the Partner, Site and Part level.; [Table 1] Recovery Risk Scoring, Field: Partner_c.Insurance_c, Score: 1; [Column 22, Lines 25-43] In computing the Recovery risk score, the parent or first level has a score of 1 for a Yes answer, and 0 for a No answer or for no response.); [Column 24, Lines 37-39] The overall risk score is calculated from the above three scores. The method to compute the score is the same for both Sites and Partners).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Vakil’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to compute Recovery Risk Score including Insurance at the Partner, Site and Part level (Vakil; [Column 22, Line 24]). By incorporating the teachings of Vakil, one would’ve been able to perform a risk evaluation considering insurance status of the suppliers.
Regarding claim 20: Makhija doesn’t explicitly teach:
wherein the company information includes an insurance subscription status,
further comprising a display control section configured to create a display object representing the own company and a display object representing each of the companies registered in the business partner management information, to create line segments connecting the display objects, and to create the supply chain network diagram including the display objects and the line segments,
wherein the display control section is configured to perform control to visualize the insurance subscription status of the display object in the supply chain network diagram.
Vakil teaches:
wherein the company information includes an insurance subscription status, ([Table 1] Recovery Risk Scoring, Field: Partner_c.Insurance_c, Score: 1; [Column 22, Lines 25-43] In computing the Recovery risk score, the parent or first level has a score of 1 for a Yes answer, and 0 for a No answer or for no response.);
further comprising a display control section configured to create a display object representing the own company ([Fig. 13] Customer Alpha Org);
and a display object representing each of the companies registered in the business partner management information, ([Fig. 13] Supplier Org);
to create line segments connecting the display objects, ([Fig. 13] Arrow connecting Customer Alpha Org and Supplier Org – Supplier Parts sent, Parts info received, Arrow connecting Supplier Org with Supplier N User);
and to create the supply chain network diagram including the display objects and the line segments, ([Fig. 13]; [Column 7, Lines 51-53] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating user access and security practices followed by the embodiment of FIG. 5 to maintain confidentiality of customer information. A feature of this implementation is to protect a particular partner's data from being viewed or obtained by another partner.);
wherein the display control section is configured to perform control to visualize the insurance subscription status of the display object in the supply chain network diagram. ([Fig. 16] Partner Data in the Tool, Recovery Risk Score; [Column 22, Lines 25-43] The “Recovery risk score” is based on the survey data collected at Site and Partner level. The methods are as follows. For the Site level: The survey questions are laid out in levels, with each level dependent on the previous level. For example, consider the BCP section. “Does your site have a written business continuity plan (BCP)” (Site_c.BCP_Plan_c) is the parent field. “Have you documented personnel at this site that will activate your BCP and execute on the recovery plan?” (Site_c.BCP_Personnel_c) is the second level, and a child of Site_c.BCP_Plan_c. And “Are these responders trained to activate your BCP and execute on the recovery plans?” (Site_c.BCP_Personnel_Trained_c) is the third level and a child of Site_c.BCP_Personnel_c. In computing the Recovery risk score, the parent or first level has a score of 1 for a Yes answer, and 0 for a No answer or for no response. The second level has a score of 0.1 for a Yes answer, and 0 for a No answer or for no response. The third level has a score of 0.01 for a Yes answer, and 0 for a No answer or for no response.; ([Table 1] Recovery Risk Scoring, Field: Partner_c.Insurance_c, Score: 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Vakil’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to compute Recovery Risk Score including Insurance at the Partner, Site and Part level (Vakil; [Column 22, Line 24]), and to illustrate user access and security practices followed by the embodiment of FIG. 5 to maintain confidentiality of customer information (Vakil; [Column 7, Lines 51-53]). By incorporating the teachings of Vakil, one would’ve been able to determine and display insurance subscription status and display a diagram of the supply chain network with arrows connecting different objects in the supply chain diagram.
Claims 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Makhija et al. (US 20220027826 A1, hereinafter “Makhija”), in view of Lopez (US 20240086803 A1, hereinafter “Lopez”), as applied to claim 1 above, in further view of Gill et al. (US 20210004739 A1, hereinafter “Gill”).
Regarding claim 12: Makhija teaches:
a storage section configured to store sales information of the participating companies and trading results of the business partners constituting the sales information; ([0084] In an embodiment, the data sources include expiring contracts, blanket pay orders, should cost models built on market indices and prices, transactional spend data, demand planning, ERPs, budgets, supply planning, newsfeeds, Merger and Acquisition information, bankruptcy, innovation and spin-off.).
Makhija doesn’t explicitly teach:
an information acquiring section configured to acquire, from an external system capable of providing an amount of carbon dioxide emissions involved in company activities for each of the companies, the amount of carbon oxide emissions of each of the participating companies;
a carbon dioxide emissions amount calculating section configured to extract, based on the business partner management information, the connected companies of the own company related to the trading results, to calculate a ratio of the trading results of each of the extracted connected companies to the sales information, and to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide emissions for each connected company by multiplexing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions by the ratio of each of the connected companies;
and an information management section configured to provide the amount of the carbon dioxide emissions of each of the companies on the terminal of the company registered as the connected company having business with the own company.
Gill teaches:
an information acquiring section configured to acquire, from an external system capable of providing an amount of carbon dioxide emissions involved in company activities for each of the companies, the amount of carbon oxide emissions of each of the participating companies; ([0083] In one example preferred embodiment, the reputation token blockchain system may integrate with existing inventory management systems. For instance, the invention includes a market place, with an integrated inventory management system, that issues a confidence score relative to a supplier's overall carbon footprint.);
a carbon dioxide emissions amount calculating section configured to extract, based on the business partner management information, the connected companies of the own company related to the trading results, to calculate a ratio of the trading results of each of the extracted connected companies to the sales information, ([0091] This aspect of the invention solves these problems by providing a supply chain/market place system where a) metrics are collected accurately, b) the metrics are integrated to create one or more non-traditional business metric scores, and c) such scores are integrated into the supply chain financing decisions. For example, aspects of the invention provide ESG tracking at the company level, and helps ESG investors make investment decisions based on inventive upstream and downstream data and engagement indicators. Examples implementation of this system for sustainability evaluation as part of financing is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.; [0100] It should be noted that in this embodiment, a token implementation may be used to evaluate metrics of a supplier. For instance, tokens may be issued or configured based on a rate proportional to the evaluated metrics of a supplier. Tokens could be redeemed for credit, or for product placement, etc.; [Claim 4] the processor configured to identify target data, associated with a supplier in the supply chain network, in real-time and use the mathematical model to compute a confidence score, for meeting a sustainability standard, to the supplier based on the target data, the score reflecting trade and environmental practices of the supplier in the industry, where the computed confidence score of a respective supplier in the supply chain network reflects a level of trustworthiness in the supply chain network.);
and to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide emissions for each connected company by multiplexing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions by the ratio of each of the connected companies; ([0111] These tools leverage a Weighting Scoring algorithm that makes social and environmental standing assessments to computationally score each participant of the supply chain with respect to: [0112] Robustly Assess Labour or Environmental management performance to high standards; [Claim 31] assign a score, for meeting a sustainability standard, to the supplier based on the target data, the score reflecting trade and environmental practices of the supplier in the industry);
and an information management section configured to provide the amount of the carbon dioxide emissions of each of the companies on the terminal of the company registered as the connected company having business with the own company. ([0034] FIGS. 58 and 59 are diagrams of output of the environmental scoring algorithm; [0083] a confidence score relative to a supplier's overall carbon footprint.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of applicant’s invention, to combine modified Makhija with Gill’s feature(s) listed above. One would’ve been motivated to do so in order to provide a confidence score rating indicating the environmental standing of a supplier (Gill; [0087]). By incorporating the teachings of Gill, one would’ve been able to use carbon emissions tracking to make supplier decisions in the supply chain network.
Accordingly, claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 USC 103.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Asanuma et al. (WO 2022162714 A1), which discloses a supply chain management device characterized by being equipped with a reading processing unit for displaying a supply chain tree. This reference is relevant to Applicant’s invention because it discloses the visualization of supply chain networks in tree diagrams that include nodes indicating buyers and suppliers, and links indicating the flow of parts between nodes, similar to Applicant’s visualization of a supply chain network as disclosed in at least [Fig. 16] of Applicant’s drawings.
Davidson (US 20050108043 A1), which discloses system and method for determining a business partner value by creating weighted metrics used for identifying, evaluating and selecting a business partner for a company. This reference is relevant to Applicant’s claimed invention because it discloses a formulaic approach for selecting business partners.
Ramudhin et al. "Carbon Market Sensitive Green Supply Chain Network Design," 2008 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, Singapore, 2008, pp. 1093-1097, which discloses integrating carbon trading considerations are within the supply chain network design phase. This reference is relevant to Applicant’s claims because it discloses an evaluation of suppliers’ carbon footprint, similar to Applicant’s Claim 12.
Sung Ho Ha and Sang Chan Park, "Matching buyers and suppliers: an intelligent dynamic exchange model," in IEEE Intelligent Systems, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 28-40, July-Aug. 2001, which discloses methods for supplier selection, which is the core concept of Applicant’s claimed invention.
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/G.J.T./Examiner, Art Unit 3625
/SARA GRACE BROWN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3625
