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Subject: Re: [ubl-dev] OB10 patent on common e-invoicing pattern?
You do highlight a significant concern although the concern is probablybetter addressed to the many entities involved specifically in thetranslation of electronic invoices, which very well might impact for examplevertical applications from SAP, Oracle, etc.
The patent application (from 2002) does not reference an existinginstantiation, but instead is apparently a purely business method patentapplication. It describes a conceptual describes a single point oftranslation, with an "apparatus" determining how to translate an inboundinvoice based on from whom it is received and how to translate the inbounddocument based on to whom it is going. It references storing the document inan intermediate form although that feature is characteristic of many-to-manytranslators.
Take an "off the shelf" middleware product
Based on the application text, tt appears to apply only to some centralin/out third party processing service.
The resulting patent, if approved, apparently would not apply if the sender(or the sender's agent) does translation into, say, UBL, and at the far endthe receiver (or the receiver's agent) does translation from UBL into thereceiver's chosen output.
Also, it apparently would not apply if in-network translation was determinednot by something specifically associated with the originator or receiverpoint, but instead by something embedded the document – e.g. information asto UBL invoice version or ANSI EDI version, etc.
From what I saw online, the applicants' U.S. Patent Application does notreference the existence of prior art although clearly invoice translationprocesses have been around for a long time – back into the early 1980s.Hundreds of EDI translator packages and in-network translation servicesavailable in the 1980s and 1990s provided invoice translation.
"... characterised in that the input processing means (9a, 9b) is configured to: add static data to the signal received from the input transmission line means when processed into the standard intermediate form, add dynamic data to the signal received from the input transmission line means when processed into the standard intermediate form, and validate the processed signal in the standard intermediate form before storing said validated processed signal at the data Warehouse."Source: http://bit.ly/fa5LM
Given that the application does not cite prior art, it does not assert itsdifferences nor in what respect it offers an improvement.The application does not claim that its method for the translation ofinvoices is in any way unique as compared to, for example, the translationof purchase orders or ship notices or any other structured document. It doesnot assert nor demonstrate that some previously existing translation processworking to translate POs, etc. would not work equally well for invoices.
The U.S. Patent Office has initiated a peer review service which might behelpful to OASIS in watch for patents that involve standards domains. - see
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