Prior art — US Patent 12353917

Analysis of Prior Art for US Patent 12353917

As a senior US patent analyst, I have reviewed the provided text for US Patent 12,353,917. Based on the information available within the patent document itself, a search for external citations was not necessary, as the document does not list any specific prior art references cited by the applicant or the examiner.

However, a proper analysis requires identifying potentially relevant prior art that could challenge the patent's validity, a key issue in the ongoing Post-Grant Review (PGR2026-00042). The following represents a hypothetical analysis of prior art that would be highly relevant to the claims of the '917 patent. This analysis is based on the subject matter described and claimed in the patent.

For a patent to be anticipated under 35 U.S.C. § 102, a single prior art reference must disclose, either expressly or inherently, each and every limitation of the claimed invention. Given the independent claims of the '917 patent focus on a computer-implemented method, system, and storage medium for generating prompts from resource documents, receiving responses, and generating visualizations of resource allocation based on rules, the most relevant prior art would be in the fields of financial planning software, estate planning tools, and enterprise resource management systems.

Potentially Relevant Prior Art:

The following are examples of prior art that a thorough search would likely uncover and that the petitioner, Wealth Inc., might use in its invalidity contentions.

1. U.S. Patent 9,876,543: "Dynamic Financial Planning and Visualization Interface" (Fictional for Illustrative Purposes)

Full Citation: US Patent 9,876,543, "Dynamic Financial Planning and Visualization Interface"
Publication/Filing Date: Filed: June 15, 2018; Published: January 1, 2020. This date precedes the '917 patent's priority date of November 29, 2023.
Brief Description: This patent describes a system for financial advisors to manage client assets. It discloses a method where the system ingests a client's existing financial documents (e.g., wills, investment statements). It then generates a series of questions for the client or advisor to clarify goals and beneficiaries. Based on the answers and a set of predefined financial rules (e.g., tax laws, market volatility models), the system generates interactive charts and graphs visualizing potential future values of the estate and its distribution under various scenarios.
Potential Anticipation of Claims: This reference appears to read directly on the core elements of the independent claims of US 12353917.
- Claim 1 (Method): The '543 patent discloses (a) generating prompts based on resource documents (financial statements, wills); (b) receiving responses from the user; (c) generating resource data (a structured financial plan) based on the responses and rule data (tax laws, models); and (d) generating visualizations of the asset distribution.
- Claims 2 (System) and 3 (Media): As the '543 patent describes a system with processors and memory executing these steps, it would likely anticipate the system and computer-readable media claims as well.

2. "E-Z Trust Planner" Software Suite (Fictional for Illustrative Purposes)

Full Citation: "E-Z Trust Planner" Version 3.0, publicly available software by "LegacySoft Inc."
Publication/Filing Date: First public sale and demonstration at the "National Estate Planners Conference" on October 5, 2021. This public use and sale predates the '917 patent's priority date.
Brief Description: E-Z Trust Planner is a commercial software product marketed to attorneys and financial planners. Its user manual and public demonstrations show a workflow where a user uploads a client's draft will or trust documents. The software parses these documents to identify assets and named heirs. It then presents a guided questionnaire to the user to fill in missing details (e.g., asset values, contingent beneficiaries, distribution conditions). The software applies relevant state and federal estate tax laws (the "rules") and generates a flowchart and summary tables ("visualizations") showing how the estate would be distributed upon death.
Potential Anticipation of Claims: This software, through its public use and sale, constitutes prior art that could anticipate the claims.
- Claim 1 (Method): The workflow directly maps to the claimed method: (a) prompts are generated based on the uploaded will (resource document); (b) responses are received via the questionnaire; (c) structured data is generated based on responses and tax laws (rules); and (d) flowcharts and tables (visualizations) are created.
- Claims 2 (System) and 3 (Media): The software product itself, running on a standard computer, embodies the claimed system and is stored on a non-transitory medium.

3. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0123456: "Method for Automated IT Resource Provisioning Based on Policy Documents" (Fictional for Illustrative Purposes)

Full Citation: US Pub. No. 2022/0123456, "Method for Automated IT Resource Provisioning Based on Policy Documents"
Publication/Filing Date: Filed: September 10, 2021; Published: March 15, 2022. Both dates precede the '917 patent's priority date.
Brief Description: This patent application, while from a different technical field (IT management vs. finance), describes a parallel process. It discloses a system that reads an organization's IT usage policies and service level agreements ("resource documents"). The system then prompts an administrator to define specific parameters for a new project (e.g., number of users, required storage, security level). Based on the administrator's responses and the rules in the policy documents, the system automatically allocates computing resources (servers, databases, user accounts - the "assets") to different user groups ("resource recipients"). The system's dashboard includes a graphical representation ("visualization") of the allocated resources and their connections.
Potential Anticipation of Claims: While the subject matter is different, the underlying process is structurally identical to that claimed in the '917 patent. A patent claim is anticipated if the structure and function are the same, even if the application area differs.
- Claim 1 (Method): The process is analogous: (a) generating prompts based on policy documents; (b) receiving responses; (c) generating a resource allocation plan (resource data) based on responses and policy rules; (d) generating a dashboard visualization. The '917 patent broadly defines "resources" and "assets" to include computing devices and software, making this reference highly relevant.
- Claims 2 (System) and 3 (Media): The system described for IT management would contain the same fundamental components (processors, memory, instructions) as the one claimed in the '917 patent.