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Copyright (c) 2006 Jan O. Kechel
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free
Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
A link to the license is included at the end of this document.

Here we try to verify our HowTo by using it ourself on real patent-applications.

Contents

Example Prior Art search for Patent WO2004097666

Abstract

Abstract of WO2004097666

Disclosed is a method for adapting a database provided on a client data processing unit to a source database stored on a server data processing unit. In order to further develop said method in such a way that only comparatively small amounts of data have to be transmitted, the following steps are carried out: - a comparative characteristic value (KV) indicating the time status of the momentary database of the client data processing unit (6a) is transmitted from the client data processing unit (6a) to the server data processing unit (4); - a part of the source database of the server data processing unit (4), which has a more recent time status than the time status of the momentary database of the client data processing unit (6a) indicated by the comparative characteristic value (KV), is determined; - the determined part of the source database is transmitted to the client data processing unit (6a); the part of the source database, which has been transmitted from the server data processing unit (4), is received in the database of the client data processing unit (6a) so as to form an updated database of the client data processing unit (6a).

Basic Steps

Identify the Patent Priority Date

Priority date for this patent is 25-APR-2003

Try to Understand the Patent (find the nut of the invention)

Replace Unnecessary Complex Terms

Disclosed is a method for adapting a database provided on a client to a source database stored on a server. In order to further develop said method in such a way that only comparatively small amounts of data have to be transmitted, the following steps are carried out: - a value (KV) indicating the time status of the momentary database of the client is transmitted from the client to the server; - a part of the source database of the server, which has a more recent time status than the time status of the momentary database of the client indicated by the value (KV), is determined; - the determined part of the source database is transmitted to the client; the part of the source database, which has been transmitted from the server, is received in the database of the client so as to form an updated database of the client.

Remove Descriptions That do not Describe the Invention Itself

Method for adapting a database provided on a client to a source database stored on a server. - a value (KV) indicating the time status of the momentary database of the client is transmitted from the client to the server; - a part of the source database of the server, which has a more recent time status than the time status of the momentary database of the client indicated by the value (KV), is determined; - the determined part of the source database is transmitted to the client; the part of the source database, which has been transmitted from the server, is received in the database of the client so as to form an updated database of the client.

Structure

Method for adapting a database provided on a client to a source database stored on a server.

  1. a value (KV) indicating the time status of the momentary database of the client is transmitted from the client to the server;
  2. a part of the source database of the server, which has a more recent time status than the time status of the momentary database of the client indicated by the value (KV), is determined;
  3. the determined part of the source database is transmitted to the client;
  4. the part of the source database, which has been transmitted from the server, is received in the database of the client so as to form an updated database of the client.

Pseudo-Code

Method for adapting a database provided on a client to a source database stored on a server.

  1. KV = timestamp(client_database) must be done on the client - part = identify_newer_parts(KV, server_database) must be done on the server
  2. send_to_client(part) client ↔ server - update_client_database(part) must be done on the client

Summarize With Own Words (the point of novelty)

This invention compares server data to client data using timestamps and updates the client data with any newer data from the server.

Try to find out which kinds of systems might use similar methods

ftp-clients, http-clients, gopher-clients, ways-clients, mail-clients, irc-clients, version control systems, instant-messengers, but also each application that can just copy files in combination with network-filesystems and also systems that can open files from network-drives or backup-systems

Create a List With All Programs/Projects That Might Use Similar Methods

Actually I just try to find categories of software here. I'll select specific projects later.

Select Those That You Expect to Fit Best

To rate my expectation of a successful Prior Art I use marks from 1 (very good chance) to 10 (no chance). I made heavy use of Google and Wikipedia (searching for 'ftp client list' etc.)

Determine in a first step from which date those (best rated) programs are

ftp-clients - chance 1

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kategorie:FTP-Client - A list of FTP-Clients on Wikipedia 


This list of ftp-clients took me about half an hour:

# 13:55, 15. Mär 2006 Kechel (→ftp-clients)
# 13:53, 15. Mär 2006 Kechel (→ftp-clients)
# 13:28, 15. Mär 2006 Kechel (→Determine in a first step from which date those (best rated) programs are)
# 13:27, 15. Mär 2006 Kechel (→Determine in a first step from which date those (best rated) programs are)

version control systems - chance 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revision_control

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_revision_control_software

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_Code_Control_System

As above links contain hundreds of Links I only take one example which (hopefully) can be used as Prior Art, but which is really very old:

mirror software - chance 1

Verify selected Projects

We now have 13 Projects that were (yet only probably) published prior to the Priority Date and which might be used as Prior Art.

I just start with one of the remaining projects I really like. But it actually doesn't matter at all, you will be finished as soon as you found one single Prior Art and you must not finish without a single Prior Art before you verified all of them!

Verify SCCS

Is the description older than the Priority-Date?

This is fairly easy here, because we found this tiny nice and shiny paper that was actually printed in 1975: The Source Code Control System

As I couldn't find any digital text of this document, I'm going to transcribe interesting passages:

Does it really implement or describe the patent?

To answer this question we start with our own summarization of the patent, and work upwards until we compare it to the original claim:

verify the summarization

I here noticed that I used timestamp in my summarization, but the original claim used time status. Yes, now we have to pay attention to such small differences. So I correct the summary as follows:

I use the following notation for my verification:

some comments

And here we go:

this clearly describes about the same thing

As the end of the delta chain is definitely a time status (which is also written somewhere else in the paper) and get modx generates the appropriate file, it updates the Client-Data using a time status.

Attention: So far we don't have hints about using Clients and Servers here.

verify the original claim

So we even have the same goals here

This says that the number, date, time can be used to retrieve the information. This includes sending this data to the server if a server is used.

This includes transmitting, there is no other way of doing this (with and without using a server)

This is the update of the client database

This might be enough to proof for Prior Art, it might not.

In this case it is good to look for other Prior Arts.

Taking into account that SCCS got really very close, I suggest continuing with work that is derived from SCCS, such as RCS:

Verify CVS

We know that CVS is based upon RCS, which is based upon SCCS and that CVS enhanced RCS with networking capabilities. So i give this a chance of 1+. We'll see how it works out:

Is CVS older than the Priority-Date?

Publication: The code was publicly released to mod.sources on June 23, 1986 (cited / original usenet post)

I also found a book about CVS prior to the Priority Date (using http://amazon.com):

Another good ressource to look for Prior Art are Universities:

So I see it as defenitely proofed, that CVS was published prior the Priority Date of the Invention.

Does CVS really implement or describe the patent?

verify the summarization

[…]

verify the original claim

… and so on.

Conclusion

I hope this gave you an overview on how such a search for Prior Art can be accomplished!

This example was made by Kechel 18:30, 16 March 2006 (PST) 

Accordingly, a "closest prior art" standard will work for now.
Once we get everything up and running, we can address the nuances,
if there is a need.

changelog

31-MAR-2006

19-MAR-2006

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