DETAILED ACTION
Acknowledgments
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This action is in reply to the application filed on 08/29/2025.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on 09/08/2025 has been considered. An initialed copy of the Form 1449 is enclosed herewith.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 8 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-patent eligible subject matter because the claim(s) as a whole, considering all claim elements both individually and in combination, do not amount to significantly more than an abstract idea.
Step 1:
The claims recite a process, system, apparatus, article of manufacture, and/or a nontransitory storage medium with instructions, each of which are proper statutory categories.
Step 2A (prong 1):
Claim 1 (representative of claims 11 and 16):
The claim limitations are grouped as shown immediately following:
determining, by an accounting system comprising memory, and one or more processors configured to execute instructions stored in memory, a candidate financial record associated with a transaction between a first accounting entity and a second entity; (Certain Methods Of Organizing Human Activity - business relations - following rules or instructions)
determining, by a numerical representation generation model of the accounting system, a numerical representation of the candidate financial record, the numerical representation generation model having been trained on a corpus generated from historical transaction records; (Certain Methods Of Organizing Human Activity - business relations - following rules or instructions)
providing, by the numerical representation generation model and to a transaction attribute prediction model of the accounting system, the numerical representation of the candidate financial record, the transaction attribute prediction model having been trained using a dataset of previously reconciled financial records, each associated with a respective first transaction attribute, wherein the first transaction attributes are account code identifiers, and wherein the transaction attribute prediction model comprises an account code prediction model to determine an account code associated with the transaction; (Certain Methods Of Organizing Human Activity - business relations - following rules or instructions)
providing, by the numerical representation generation model and to the transaction attribute prediction model, numerical representations of each of a plurality of accounting entity specified first transaction attributes, wherein the accounting entity specified first transaction attributes are accounting entity specified account code identifiers; (Certain Methods Of Organizing Human Activity - business relations - following rules or instructions)
determining, by the transaction attribute prediction model, at least one first transaction attribute associated with the candidate financial record by determining the first transaction attribute associated with the candidate financial record as being one of the plurality of accounting entity specified first attributes, (Certain Methods Of Organizing Human Activity - business relations - following rules or instructions)
wherein the at least one first transaction attribute comprises an account code identifier; (Certain Methods Of Organizing Human Activity - business relations - following rules or instructions)
using, by the accounting system, the at least one first transaction attribute to: (Certain Methods Of Organizing Human Activity - business relations - following rules or instructions)
reconcile the candidate financial record with a respective accounting record of the accounting system; (Certain Methods Of Organizing Human Activity - business relations - following rules or instructions)
or (ii) create a new accounting record in the accounting system. (Certain Methods Of Organizing Human Activity - business relations - following rules or instructions)
Additional dependent claims 2-10, 12-15, and 17-20 do not appear remedy the deficiency.
Step 2A (prong 2):
Claim 1 (representative of claims 11 and 16):
…memory
…one or more processors
…a system
… a non-transient computer-readable storage medium
…a computer
These remaining claim limitations are delineated as shown immediately preceding. The abstract idea is not integrated into a practical application. There are no improvements to the functioning of a computer, other technology or technical field, a particular machine is not cited, nothing is transformed to a different state or thing, the abstract idea is not more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the abstract idea. The claim merely uses a computer as a tool to perform the abstract idea, which is generally linked to a particular field of use, in this case, marketing and advertising. Thus, these limitations are recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., as a generic processor and memory performing a generic computer function of processing and storing data) such that it amounts no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component – MPEP 2106.05(f). Further, receiving data, evaluating data and distributing data are data gathering and data outputting, which has no effect on technology and does no more than generally link the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use – see MPEP 2106.05(h).
Step 2B:
The claim limitations do not provide an Inventive Concept. The claim limitations do not recite additional elements that amount to significantly more that the abstract idea because the additional elements of the system comprising a computer processor, computer readable storage medium with instructions, and a memory configured to store information, each recited at a high level of generality in a computer network which only perform the universal computer functions of accessing, receiving, storing, and processing data, transmitting and presenting information. Taking the elements both individually and as an ordered combination, the function performed by the computer at each step of the process is purely orthodox. Using a computer to obtain and display data are some of the most basic functions of a computer. As shown, the individual limitations claimed are some of the most rudimentary functions of a computer. The technical solution described in this invention does not alter hardware structure or its routine, does not transform the character of the information being processed, does not identify a novel source or type of data, does not advance the functionality of a computer as a tool, and does not incorporate specific rules enabling the computer to accomplish innovative utilities. In summary, the individual step and/or component does no more than require a general computer to perform standard computer functions. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional element of a computer devices amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component - requiring the use of software to tailor information and provide it to the user on a generic computer, Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Capital One Bank (USA), 792 F.3d 1363, 1370-71, 115 USPQ2d 1636, 1642 (Fed. Cir. 2015);
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, 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 1-5, 7, and 9-20 are rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shen et al. (USPGP 2022/0103589 A1) hereinafter SHEN, in view of Cella et al. (USPGP 2022/0108262 A1), hereinafter CELLA.
Claims 1, 11, 16:
SHEN as shown below discloses the following limitations:
determining, by an accounting system comprising memory, and one or more processors configured to execute instructions stored in memory, a candidate financial record associated with a transaction between a first accounting entity and a second entity; (see at least Figure 1 as well as associated and related text)
determining, by a numerical representation generation model of the accounting system, a numerical representation of the candidate financial record, the numerical representation generation model having been trained on a corpus generated from historical transaction records; (see at least paragraphs 0067 and 0068)
providing, by the numerical representation generation model and to a transaction attribute prediction model of the accounting system, the numerical representation of the candidate financial record, the transaction attribute prediction model having been trained using a dataset of previously reconciled financial records, each associated with a respective first transaction attribute, (see at least paragraphs 0024 and 0163)
wherein the first transaction attributes are account code identifiers, and wherein the transaction attribute prediction model comprises an account code prediction model to determine an account code associated with the transaction; (see at least paragraph 0041)
providing, by the numerical representation generation model and to the transaction attribute prediction model, numerical representations of each of a plurality of accounting entity specified first transaction attributes, wherein the accounting entity specified first transaction attributes are accounting entity specified account code identifiers; (see at least paragraphs 0061, 0067, and 0068)
determining, by the transaction attribute prediction model, at least one first transaction attribute associated with the candidate financial record by determining the first transaction attribute associated with the candidate financial record as being one of the plurality of accounting entity specified first attributes, (see at least paragraphs 0039, 0061, 0067, and 0068)
wherein the at least one first transaction attribute comprises an account code identifier; (see at least paragraph 0041)
SHEN does not specifically disclose:
using, by the accounting system, the at least one first transaction attribute to:
reconcile the candidate financial record with a respective accounting record of the accounting system;
or (ii) create a new accounting record in the accounting system.
However, CELLA, in at least paragraph 6562 does. In this case, each of the elements claimed are all shown by the prior art of record but not combined as claimed. However, the technical ability exists to combine the elements as claimed and the results of the combination are predictable. Therefore, when combined, the elements perform the same function as they did separately. (KSR v. Teleflex, 127 S. Ct. 1727 (2007)). Consequently, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date to combine/modify the method of SHEN with the technique of CELLA because, “The presence of more data and data of new types offers many opportunities for organizations to achieve competitive advantages; however, it also presents problems, such as of complexity and volume, such that users can be overwhelmed, missing opportunities for insight. A need exists for methods and systems that allow enterprises not only to obtain data, but to convert the data into insights and to translate the insights into well-informed decisions and timely execution of efficient operations.” (CELLA: paragraph 0018). Additionally, there is a recognized problem or need in the art including market pressure, design need, etc., and there are a finite number of identified predictable solutions. Accordingly, those in the art could have pursued known solutions with reasonable expectation of success. (KSR v. Teleflex, 127 S. Ct. 1727 (2007)). Fundamentally, in the competitive business climate, there is a profit-driven motive to maximize the profitability of goods and services that are provided or marketed to customers. Enterprises typically use business planning to make decisions in order to maximize profits.
Claims 2, 12, 17:
The combination of SHEN/CELLA discloses the limitations as shown in the rejections above. SHEN further discloses the following limitations:
determining, using the numerical representation generation model, a numerical representation of the accounting entity specified first attributes, the numerical representation generation model having been trained on the corpus generated from historical transaction records.
See at least paragraphs 0067 and 0068.
Claims 3, 13, 18:
The combination of SHEN/CELLA discloses the limitations as shown in the rejections above. SHEN further discloses the following limitations:
wherein the accounting entity specified first attributes comprises accounting system predefined first attributes.
See at least paragraphs 0039 and 0043.
Claims 4, 14, 19:
The combination of SHEN/CELLA discloses the limitations as shown in the rejections above. SHEN further discloses the following limitations:
sending, to a computing device, the determined at least one first transaction attribute for presentation on a user interface of a reconciliation application;
See at least paragraphs 0047 and 0138.
CELLA further discloses the following limitations:
receiving, from the computing device, approval of an approved first transaction attribute of the determined at least one first transaction attributes; and
generating a reconciliation record associated with the transaction, the reconciliation record comprising the candidate financial record and the approved first transaction attribute.
See at least paragraphs 6545, 6562, and 6595. In this case, each of the elements claimed are all shown by the prior art of record but not combined as claimed. However, the technical ability exists to combine the elements as claimed and the results of the combination are predictable. Therefore, when combined, the elements perform the same function as they did separately. (KSR v. Teleflex, 127 S. Ct. 1727 (2007)). Consequently, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date to combine/modify the method of SHEN with the technique of CELLA because, “The presence of more data and data of new types offers many opportunities for organizations to achieve competitive advantages; however, it also presents problems, such as of complexity and volume, such that users can be overwhelmed, missing opportunities for insight. A need exists for methods and systems that allow enterprises not only to obtain data, but to convert the data into insights and to translate the insights into well-informed decisions and timely execution of efficient operations.” (CELLA: paragraph 0018). Additionally, there is a recognized problem or need in the art including market pressure, design need, etc., and there are a finite number of identified predictable solutions. Accordingly, those in the art could have pursued known solutions with reasonable expectation of success. (KSR v. Teleflex, 127 S. Ct. 1727 (2007)). Fundamentally, in the competitive business climate, there is a profit-driven motive to maximize the profitability of goods and services that are provided or marketed to customers. Enterprises typically use business planning to make decisions in order to maximize profits.
Claims 5, 15, 20:
The combination of SHEN/CELLA discloses the limitations as shown in the rejections above. SHEN further discloses the following limitations:
determining a confidence score associated with each of the determined at least one first transaction attribute; and
generating a reconciliation record associated with the transaction, the reconciliation record comprising the candidate financial record and the determined at least first transaction attributes having associated confidence scores than meet the confidence threshold.
See at least paragraphs 0023, 0043, and 0135.
Claim 7:
The combination of SHEN/CELLA discloses the limitations as shown in the rejections above. SHEN further discloses the following limitations:
wherein the corpus for training the numerical representation generation model was generated using a combination of historical financial records and entity information associated with the respective historical financial records, (see at least paragraphs 0067 and 0068)
wherein the method further comprises:
determining the accounting entity associated with the candidate financial record; (see at least paragraphs 0003 and 0039)
determining one or more entity attributes from an accounting entity record associated with the first accounting entity; (see at least paragraphs 0003 and 0039)
wherein generating the set of tokens further comprises tokenizing each of the one or more entity attributes. (see at least paragraphs 0003 and 0039)
Claim 9:
The combination of SHEN/CELLA discloses the limitations as shown in the rejections above. SHEN further discloses the following limitations:
wherein the account code prediction model comprises a neural network trained to:
determine a confidence score associated with the candidate financial record and each one of a plurality of account code identifiers associated with the first accounting entity;
determine the at least one first transaction attribute as the account code identifiers having the highest confidence score.
See at least paragraph 0023, 0024, 0043, 0048, 0078, and 0135.
Claim 10:
The combination of SHEN/CELLA discloses the limitations as shown in the rejections above. SHEN further discloses the following limitations:
wherein the at least one first transaction attribute is an identifier of the second entity and the transaction attribute prediction model comprises an entity prediction model to predict the second entity associated with the transaction.
See at least paragraph 0041.
CONCLUSION
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Non Patent Literature:
Tookitaki. “What is data reconciliation and what is it used for in finance?”. (20 May 2020). Retrieved online 08/23/2022. https://www.tookitaki.com/compliance_hub/what-is-reconciliation/
SCOR. “ P&C loss development triangles and reserves as of December 2019.” (2019). Retrieved online 08/23/2022. https://www.scor.com/en/download/file?token=def502000af358d4c35cb6e36e1e747623a0f0c3c06f93e75768ec914fb31fe1cf35180e9632058b442404ff60f038debc13ff8dd7ba7b8ce68c872fd577713c94ebaab1e2a6e6410c3c10e5627c9ce4e3338e73d18fbfd17824b88a6bb8ad062156e7389d1040381528764727635250acd19a0c3b403f93b4be3060ecc439c4e2686ceb76
EFRAG. “ACCOUNTING FOR CRYPTO-ASSETS (LIABILITIES): HOLDER AND ISSUER PERSPECTIVE.” (July 2020). Retrieved online 08/23/2022. https://www.efrag.org/Assets/Download?assetUrl=/sites/webpublishing/SiteAssets/EFRAG%2520Discussion%2520Paper-Accounting%2520for%2520Crypto-Assets%2520%28Liabilities%29-%2520July%25202020.pdf
Michael Casey et al. “The Impact of Blockchain Technology on Finance: A Catalyst for Change.” (2018). Retrieved online 08/23/2022. https://www.sipotra.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/The-Impact-of-Blockchain-Technology-on-Finance-A-Catalyst-for-Change.pdf
LAVINIA ANDREEA SAMOILA. “Multiple Entity Reconciliation.” (September 2015). Retrieved online 08/23/2022. http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:928531/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Foreign Art:
ALEJANDRO LLAVES et al. “APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR GENERATION OF FINANCIAL EVENT DATABASE.” (JP 2018/198046 A)
KRIKORIAN, SHARI et al. “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PURCHASE CARD UTILIZATION AND DATA RECONCILIATION WITH ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING/FINANCIAL SOFWARE.” (WO 2006/017630 A2)
HODSON, MELISSA. “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTRACT COMPARISON IN SECURITIES LENDING TRANSACTIONS.” (WO 2007/033095 A2)
CONLEY, WILLIAM S. et al. “DATA COLLECTION, MANIPULATION, RECONCILIATION, AND REPORTING FOR MULTIPLE SITES.” (WO 2007/112374 A2)
HYNES, ANTHONY et al. “FINANCIAL TRANSACTION PROCESSING METHOD AND SYSTEM.” (WO 2008/036998 A1)
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to James A. Reagan (james.reagan@uspto.gov) whose telephone number is 571.272.6710. The Examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, John Hayes, can be reached at 571.272.6708.
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/JAMES A REAGAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3697
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