KR101496423B1 - Annuity interface and system in an intellectual property database - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for integrating intellectual property management and annual fee order management for registered patents and pending patent applications. The intellectual property management application is integrated with the asset management application through the third application. Communication busses are configured to communicate with applications in the form of queues and schedulers to facilitate communication of commands between applications. Web services are used as communication media for transmitting commands between applications.

Description

{ANNUITY INTERFACE AND SYSTEM IN AN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DATABASE}

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to interfaces between two applications via a web service, and more particularly to interfacing between an annual fee application and an asset management application.

A patent is a proprietary right granted by the Government to invent, use, or sell an invention for a limited number of years. Grant is the disclosure of the invention. All utility patents granted, and many industrial design patents, must be paid periodically to maintain registration. In the United States, maintenance on utility patents is not an annual fee, and there is no maintenance required for design patents at this time. However, in most other countries, utility patents must pay annual fees, also known as renewal fees. Such renewal fees must be paid before the registration, if the patent is pending.

With the expansion of the patent portfolio, the management complexity of annual payment deadlines and payments is also expanding. There are services that can help manage these assets to keep track of deadlines and reduce the costs associated with managing and paying for periodic maintenance.

Another aspect of the management of intellectual property relates to the management of pending applications and inventions. Other tools can be used, all taking some form of a calendar to note deadlines and notify agents of these deadlines. Computer-based applications have been developed to use these controls in an electronic environment. As technology has developed, management applications have also evolved and are now available in a web-based form accessible through generally available browser applications.

However, intellectual property management and periodic maintenance management are mostly separate. That is, these applications are not integrated so that management applications can track deadlines associated with periodic maintenance (s). Accordingly, there is a need to use technical advances to improve intellectual property management, including data communication between management application (s) and asset management services.

The present invention includes a transparent interface between an annual charge management system and an asset management system.

In one aspect of the invention, a computer system comprises a first computer in communication with a first memory module and a first computer having a first application in communication with a first process. The first application dockets intellectual property. The second computer has a second processor in communication with the second memory module and the data storage, and a second application in communication with the second processor. The second application manages annual fee data for intellectual property. An administrator is provided in the first computer and communicating with the first application via the local communication protocol and communicating with the second application via the web service. The administrator synchronizes data between the annual charge and the asset management system through the administrator and the web service.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for interfacing annualized data processing with intellectual property management. A first application for dealing with intellectual property is provided and a second application for managing the annual fee data for the intellectual property is provided. The second application communicates with the first application. An administrator is provided for interfacing the first and second applications via the web service to synchronize the annual fee data of the second application with the intellectual property of the first application via the web service.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The drawings referred to herein are part of the specification. The features shown in the drawings are for illustrative purposes only and not for all embodiments of the present invention, unless explicitly indicated otherwise. On the contrary, it should not be in the opposite sense.
1 is a block diagram of a prior art illustrating a client communicating with an annual fee management application execution server.
2 is a block diagram of a prior art illustrating a client communicating with an asset management application execution server.
3 is a block diagram illustrating an annual fee management application execution server in communication with an asset management application execution server.
4 is a flow chart illustrating the start of an extract process in an asset management application.
5 is a flowchart illustrating an extraction request transmission process through a third application.
6 is a flow chart illustrating the recovery of an acknowledgment file sent by an annual charge management application;
7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of transferring a payment order from an asset management application to an annual fee management application.
8 is a flow chart illustrating command transmission through a third application.
9 is a flow chart illustrating recovery of information from an annual fee management application.

It will be readily appreciated that elements of the present invention may be deployed and designed in a variety of different configurations as generally described and illustrated in the figures. Accordingly, the following detailed description of embodiments of the apparatus, system, and method of the present invention shown in the drawings does not intend to limit the scope of the invention as claimed, but merely illustrates selected embodiments of the invention.

The functional units described in this specification are denoted as application (s) and / or manager (s). Any of these functional units may be implemented in programmable hardware devices (e.g., field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable array logic (PALs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), etc.). Functional units may also be implemented in software for execution by various types of processors. For example, a functional unit of executable code may include one or more physical or logical computer instruction blocks that may be organized, for example, as an object, procedure, function, or other construct . Nonetheless, the executables of the administrator and / or application need not be physically co-located, but include heterogeneous instructions that are stored in different locations that contain functional units and achieve their intended purpose when logically coupled together can do.

Indeed, the functional unit of the manager or executable code may be a single instruction, or many instructions, and may be distributed over several different code segments, between different applications, and across several memory devices. Likewise, operational data may be identified and illustrated within an administrator and / or application, implemented in any appropriate form, and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a single data set, distributed over other locations including other storage devices, and may exist as electronic signals, at least partially, on the system or network.

The phrase "selected embodiment", "one embodiment", or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is at least one Which is included in the embodiment. Accordingly, the phrases "selected embodiment", "in one embodiment", or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification do not necessarily represent the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details (e.g., managers, applications, etc.) are provided to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and the like. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the present invention.

Since the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, the illustrated embodiments of the present invention will be best understood by referring to the drawings. The following description is for illustrative purposes only, and is merely representative of selected embodiments of devices, systems, and processes consistent with the claimed invention.

The integration of the patent annual management system and the patent asset management system is made possible through the third application. In one embodiment, a third application in the asset management application execution server operates. The third application serves as a conduit between the asset management system and the patent annual fee system that synchronizes the data in the asset management system with the annual fee data maintained by the annual fee management system. The third application sends the annual payment information to the asset management system. Thus, users can electronically transmit commands to the annual charge management system and make payment decisions through the asset management system, including keeping records of all commands for a given update.

In the following description of the embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized as structural modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a prior art block diagram (100) of a computer system with a patented annual payment system. The patent annual fee system manages the entire annual fee process from decision-making to cost sharing. As shown, the server 102 includes a processing unit 104 (also referred to as a processor) that communicates with the memory 108 via the bus 106. [ The server 102 communicates with the data storage medium 110 used to store patent retention information. A second application 112 is provided that is in the server 102 and communicates with the processing unit 104. The second application 112 serves as an interface for managing the maintenance information stored in the storage medium 110. In one embodiment, a client machine 120 is provided for communicating with the server 102. The client machine 120 has a processing unit 124 that communicates with the memory 128 via a bus 126. The client machine 120 also includes an input device 130 and a visual display 132. The client machine 120 communicates with the server 102, and more specifically with the second application 112, via a local connection or network interface. Thus, patent retention information is maintained within the server and is accessible through a client machine that communicates with the server.

2 is a block diagram 200 of the prior art of a computer system with an asset management system. The asset management system provides comprehensive management of valid patents and pending patent applications. Users are required to submit a copy of the case history, documents, reason for rejection, drafts, and deadlines for scanned copies of inventions, transferees, inventors, invention status, date reminders, Last days, application documents, etc. can be seen. However, the asset management system does not allow users to determine or pay annual fees. As shown, the server 202 includes a processing unit 204 (also referred to as a processor) that communicates with the memory 208 via a bus 206. The server 202 communicates with a data storage medium 210 that is used to store asset management data. A first application 212 in server 202 and in communication with processor 204 is provided. The application 212 serves as an interface for managing the asset management data stored in the storage medium 210. [ In one embodiment, a client machine 220 is provided that communicates with the server 202. [ The client machine 220 has a processing unit 224 that communicates with the memory 228 via a bus 226. The client machine 220 also includes an input device 230 and a visual display 232. The client machine 220 communicates with the server 202, and more specifically with the first application 212, via a local connection or a network interface. Thus, the asset management data is maintained within the server and is accessible through a client machine that communicates with the server.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate clients that can access the maintenance and asset management data separately. However, none of the systems shown in Figs. 1 and 2 provide communication between the server managing the maintenance information and the server responsible for the asset management information. More specifically, each of the prior art systems addresses the asset management system or the patent annual payment system as separate units, but does not include hardware and / or software tools for integrating or sharing data between the other two systems do not include. To facilitate data sharing, the system is modified to include additional elements. 3 is a block diagram 300 of a computer system that supports integration of an asset management system and a patent annual fee system. As shown, the first server 302 includes a processing unit 304 (also referred to as a processor) that communicates with the memory 308 via a bus 306. The server 302 communicates with a data storage medium 310 that is used to store asset management data. In one embodiment, the data storage medium 310 may be located in another server. A first application 312 in server 302 and in communication with processor 304 is provided. The application 312 serves as an interface for managing the asset management data stored in the storage medium 310. In one embodiment, a client machine 320 is provided that communicates with the server 302. The client machine 320 has a processing unit 324 that communicates with the memory 328 via a bus 326. In addition, the client machine 320 includes an input device 330 and a visual display 332. The client machine 320 communicates with the first server 302, and more specifically with the application 312, via a local connection or network interface.

The second server 360 communicates with the data storage medium 370 used to store the maintenance data. As with the first server 302, the second server 360 has a processing unit 364 that communicates with the memory 368 via a bus 366. [ A second application 380 for managing the annual fee data is in the server 360. The second application 380 manages asset management data in the storage medium 370.

A third application 340 is provided in the first server 302 to facilitate communication between the patent annual fee application 312 and the asset management application 380. The third application 340 serves as a conduit between the patented royalties application and the asset management application. In addition to the third application 340, two queues 342 and 344 are provided to support the interface of the third application and the first application 312. [ The queues are in the form of an extract queue 342 and an instruction queue 344. The extraction queue 342 is coupled to the first application 312 to send a request to the third application to extract data from the storage medium 370 in communication with the second application 380 in the annual fee system server 360 Lt; / RTI > The extraction request is a request for information on the payment of the annual fee for the granted patent or pending patent application. The details of the extraction are illustrated below with a flow chart showing the flow of the extraction communication. The command queue 344 sends a communication to the third application 340 in connection with authentication to submit a payment slip for the maintenance of the managed asset. The details of the command queue are illustrated below with a flow chart showing the flow of command communication. For each of the cues 342 and 344, the data communication from the first application 312 to the third application 340 is one-way communication. Thus, the first application 312 communicates with the third application 340 through the queues and messages stored therein.

Further, the first application 312 sends the extraction data 346 and the payment instruction data to the third application 340. [ The third application 340 sends the ACK data, command state, annual fee events and update dates 348 to the first application.

As shown in FIG. 3, the third application 340 is provided as an interface between the first application 312 and the second application 380. The third application 340 is separate from the asset management application. More specifically, the third application 340 functions as an interface between the asset renewal service and the asset management service. There are four key elements supported by the third application 340: extract job send, receive ACK job, send command job, and receive package job. Each of these four key elements shown in Figures 4-7 is described below. A scheduler 350 is used to facilitate communication between the third application 340 and the asset management application 312. [ The scheduler 350 is a program that drives the third application 340. In one embodiment, the scheduler is an in-memory application that does not maintain any knowledge of the operating state between runs. Accordingly, the scheduler 350 communicates with the third application 340 to support communication with the first application 312. [

As described above, there are four core elements supported by the third application. 4 is a flowchart 400 showing the start process of the extraction operation from the first application to the third application. The scheduler is used to cause the first application to place certain scheduled extract operations into the extraction queue (402). Following step 402, it is determined whether the first application intends to manually send one or more data extraction jobs to the extraction queue (404). If yes, the waiting time for the user to send the extraction job (s) to the extraction queue elapses (406). Conversely, if "NO" at step 404 or step 406 is completed, the first application generates (408) an extraction request for the annual payment information associated with the asset in progress and places the extraction request in the extraction queue (410). Thus, the process of placing the extraction operation in the extraction queue can be performed manually or in an automated manner without human intervention.

When a job is placed in an extract queue, the job needs to be processed. 5 is a flowchart 500 showing the processing of the extraction operation by the third application. As described above, the scheduler may be used to facilitate periodic extraction and review of command queues. The scheduler sends 502 a message to the third application indicating that the third application should check the extraction queue based on the time interval. It is then determined if there are pending extraction requests in the extraction queue (504). If "NO" in step 504, the scheduler waits until the next time interval expires to check the extraction queue. Conversely, if YES at step 504, the third application retrieves 506 an extraction request from the queue and sends 508 an extraction request to the second application in the annual fee management service for processing. In one embodiment, the extraction request is sent to the second application via the web service. A Web service is a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interactions over a network. Web services are Internet-based APIs (application program interfaces) that can be accessed over a network (e.g., the Internet) and run on a remote system hosting the requested services. However, since other types of communication protocols may be used, the present invention should not be limited to web service communications. Following step 508, it is determined 510 which other extraction requests are in the extraction queue. If "YES" at step 512, then control returns to step 506. [ Conversely, if "NO" in the step 510, the process returns to the step 502. Thus, the third application periodically reviews the extraction queue for one or more extraction requests.

Once the extraction request is removed from the queue, it is transferred to the second application in the annual charge management data storage. FIG. 6 is a flow chart 600 illustrating tracking of receipt of a request by a second application. Periodically, the scheduler prompts the third application to determine the reception state of the extraction request (602). Following a prompt from the scheduler, the third application requests (604) an ACK file indicating receipt of the extraction request from the second application. Then, it is determined whether the second application can transmit an ACK file (606). In one embodiment, the second application may not be ready to transmit an ACK file. If it is determined in step 606 that the second application can not transmit the acknowledgment to the third application, the third application waits for the set time interval (608), and then returns to step (602). Conversely, if "YES" at step 606, an ACK file is sent 610 to the third application, and then an ACK file is sent 612 to the first application in the asset management application. Thus, the third application bridges the communication between the first application and the second application in association with the extracted information.

When the first application obtains the extracted information from the second application through the third application, the first application can make a determination related to payment of the known annual fee deadlines. 7 is a flow diagram 700 showing the logic flow for transferring annual fee payment decisions from an asset management application to an annual fee management application. Initially, the user communicating with the asset management application makes a determination regarding the annual payment (702). It is then determined 704 whether the decision made is a final decision. If it is determined that the decision is not a top decision but only a preliminary decision, the process returns to step 702 until a final decision is reached. Conversely, if "YES" at step 704, then the first application places 706 an annual fee payment order in the command queue. As shown in FIG. 3, the command queue is a pipe that allows a first application to send a payment command to a third application.

8 is a flowchart 800 showing how a pay order placed in a queue at step 706 is sent to the annual fee management system. In a manner similar to an extract queue, the scheduler periodically reminds the third application to check the command queue to search for any instructions placed in the queue by the first application (802). Following step 802, it is determined 804 which commands are in the queue. If "NO" in step 804, it indicates that the queue is empty. The third application then waits for the set time interval (806) and returns to step 802. [ Conversely, if YES at step 804, the third application fetches 808 the command details from the communication placed in the command queue. The third application sends payment instructions to the second application in the annual charge management system (810). Thus, the communication between the third application and the second application with respect to the annual payment instructions follows a path similar to the communication of the extracted information described in FIG.

Once the orders are transferred to the annual fee management system, the asset management system needs to receive a payment confirmation. 9 is a flowchart 900 showing a process followed by a first application of the asset management system for polling an annual fee management system. As in Figure 8, the scheduler is used to limit the asset management system to periodic polling schedules. At step 902, the scheduler sends a communication to the third application indicating that the scheduler can start the polling process. The third application polls 904 the second application of the annual fee management system for new data than the previous communication. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that updates in the polling data rarely occur. Thereafter, it is determined whether the annual fee management system includes this new data (906). If "NO" in step 906, it waits for a predetermined time interval (908) and returns to step 902. [ However, if "YES" in step 906, then the polling data is transferred from the annual charge management system to the asset management system. More specifically, the transfer includes information (update 910 for update information, state 912 for annual payment orders, and state 914 of the payment process). All data transferred to the third application is then transferred to the first application. In one embodiment, the polling data is transferred from the annual fee management system to the third application of the asset management system via the web service.

As shown in Figs. 3 to 9, communication between the application of the asset management system and the application of the annual fee management system is all done through the web service. However, the present invention should not be limited to this type of communication transmission. In one embodiment, other transmission tools may be used that replace or increase the transmission of the web service.

Embodiments within the scope of the present invention include articles of manufacture comprising program storage means with embedded program code. Such program storage means may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such program storage means may be used to store RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, And may include any other medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. The combinations should also be included within the scope of the program storage means.

The media can be electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems (or devices or devices) or propagation media. Examples of computer readable media include storage media such as semiconductor or solid state memory, magnetic tape, removable computer diskettes, RAM, ROM, rigid magnetic disks, and flash drives, optical disks.

A data processing system suitable for storing and / or executing program code will include at least one processor connected directly or indirectly to memory elements via a system bus. The memory elements may include local memory used during actual execution of the program code, bulk storage, and cache memories providing temporary storage of at least some program code to reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage during execution .

Input / output or I / O devices (including, but not limited to, keyboards, displays, pointing devices, etc.) may be connected to the system either directly or through intervening I / O controllers. Network adapters may be coupled to the system such that the data processing system may be connected to other data processing systems or remote printers or storage devices via an intervening premises network or public network.

A software implementation may take the form of a computer program product accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readable medium providing program code for use by or in connection with a computer or any instruction execution system.

An interface between an asset management system and an asset management system that facilitates and enables automated information exchange is provided. By using schedules in conjunction with the interface, the need for human interaction is alleviated, although not eliminated completely. Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In particular, in one embodiment, the third application may be embedded in a patent annual fee application, and the web service is used as a medium for communication between the third application and the patent asset management application. Likewise, in another embodiment, the third application may be embedded in a third server remote from the patent asset management application and the patent annual fee application. The third application communicates with other applications over a network connection, and the web service is used as a medium for communication between the third application, the patent asset management application, and the patented royalty-free application. Accordingly, the protection scope of the present invention is limited only by the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims (24)

A first server including a first processor in communication with a first data storage medium for storing intellectual property data;
A first application serving as an interface for the first data storage medium, communicating with the first process and marking intellectual property;
A second server including a second processor in communication with a second data storage medium for storing annual charge data;
A second application that acts as an interface for the second data storage medium, communicates with the second processor, and manages annual charge data for intellectual property;
Wherein the first application is in a first server and communicates with the first application via a local communication protocol and communicates with the second application via a web service, and receives a request and an annual fee related command to retrieve the annual fee information received from the first application A third application for sending to the second application and transmitting corresponding annual fee related information received from the second application to the first application;
A plurality of queues accessible by the first application and the third application, the queue related command being associated with the request and the corresponding annual related information before being transmitted to the first application or the second application, A plurality of queues stored in the plurality of queues; And
Wherein the third application communicates the annual charge related command, the request, and the corresponding annual fee related information from the plurality of queues periodically to one of the first application and the second application, And a scheduler for sending the scheduling information to the scheduler. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising an extraction queue in the first computer and for receiving an extraction request from the first application. 3. The method of claim 2,
The third application transmits the extraction request to the second application through the web service,
Wherein the request to retrieve the annual fee information comprises the retrieval request. The method of claim 3,
The third application receives an ACK file from the second application and sends the ACK file to the first application,
Wherein the annual fee related information includes the ACK file. 5. The method of claim 4,
And the ACK file confirms extraction and reception by the second application. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a command queue in the first computer and for receiving an annual payment order from the first application,
Wherein the annual fee related command comprises the annual fee payment command. The method according to claim 6,
And the third application transmits the annual fee payment instruction to the second application via the web service. 8. The method of claim 7,
The third application receives an ACK file from the second application, including an acknowledgment of an annual payment, and sends the ACK file to the first application. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first application sends a poll query to the second application to receive the current status of the annual fee data for selection of intellectual properties. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the current state of the annual fee data includes an update to the annual fee update data information for selection of the intellectual property. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the polling statement comprises process command status data including a status for the annual charge command processing received by the second application. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the polling query includes a status update for the payment of the annual fee for selection of the intellectual property. Interfacing, by a processor, a first data storage medium used to store intellectual property data, with a first application that patrols the intellectual property;
Interfacing, by the processor, a second data storage medium used to store annual fee data with a second application for managing annual fee data for intellectual property;
A request for retrieving annual fee information received from the first application by the processor using a third application communicating with the first application via a local communication protocol and communicating with the second application via a web service, And transmitting an annual charge related command to the second application and transmitting corresponding annual fee related information received from the second application to the first application;
Related request, the request, and the corresponding annual-related information are transmitted to the first application or the second application by the processor, wherein the annual-related command, the request, and the corresponding annual- Storing a plurality of annual related information in a plurality of queues, wherein the plurality of queues are accessible by the first application and the third application; And
Using the scheduler, to cause the third application to transfer the annual charge related command, the request, and the corresponding annual charge related information from the plurality of queues to one of the first application and the second application And periodically sending the data to the mobile station. 14. The method of claim 13,
Further comprising receiving an extraction request from the first application via an extraction queue in the first application. 15. The method of claim 14,
The third application transmits the extraction request to the second application through the web service,
Wherein the request to retrieve the annual fee information comprises the retrieval request. 16. The method of claim 15,
The third application receives an ACK file from the second application and sends the ACK file to the first application,
Wherein the annual fee related information comprises the ACK file. 17. The method of claim 16,
And the ACK file includes data for confirming extraction and reception by the second application. 14. The method of claim 13,
Further comprising a command queue in the first computer and for receiving an annual payment order from the first application,
Wherein the annual fee related command comprises the annual fee payment command. 19. The method of claim 18,
And the third application transmits the annual fee payment instruction to the second application via the web service. 20. The method of claim 19,
The third application receives an ACK file from the second application, including an acknowledgment of an annual payment, and sends the ACK file to the first application. 14. The method of claim 13,
Further comprising transmitting a polling query from the first application to the second application to receive the current status of the annual data for selection of intellectual property. 22. The method of claim 21,
Wherein the current state of the annual fee data comprises an update to the annual fee update data information for selection of the intellectual property. 22. The method of claim 21,
Wherein the polling statement comprises process command state data including a state for processing of the annual charge orders received by the second application. 22. The method of claim 21,
Wherein the polling query comprises a status update for an annual payment status for selection of the intellectual property.

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