Prior art

The USPTO database search for patent number US8266124B2 confirms the provided patent text, titled "Integrated asset management", with a filing date of 2002-12-17 and a priority date of 2001-12-18. The patent describes a method and system for aggregating information concerning assets and users into a centralized computerized database, scheduling and performing asset transition events using this information, and continuously updating the database with information from these events and subsequent changes to the assets for managing future transitions.

To identify the most relevant prior art, we examine the patents cited by the examiner within US8266124 that have a priority date earlier than US8266124's priority date of 2001-12-18. The following citations are considered most relevant based on their titles and alignment with the core concepts of US8266124:

Most Relevant Prior Art for US8266124

1. US20010029474A1

• Full Citation: Noriaki Yada, "Asset management system and asset management method", US20010029474A1.
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2000-04-07; Publication Date: 2001-10-11.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes an asset management system and method that utilizes an asset information database to manage assets. It focuses on recording asset information and managing various asset-related tasks. The system likely involves collecting data on assets and using that data for management purposes, which aligns with the aggregation and management steps of US8266124.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s) of US8266124 (under 35 U.S.C. § 102): Potentially anticipates elements of Claim 1, specifically "recording information from the transition event into a centralized computerized database" and "managing at least one additional transition event... using information available in the centralized computerized database," if its asset management broadly encompasses "transition events" and continuous monitoring/updating. Claims 2, 6, and 13 may also be implicated if the system manages various types of asset information and management activities.

2. US20010037333A1

• Full Citation: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, "Asset information management method, asset information management system, asset information identifier database, and data structure of asset information management identifier", US20010037333A1.
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2000-04-17; Publication Date: 2001-11-01.
• Brief Description: This patent application details a method and system for managing asset information using an asset information identifier database. It focuses on how asset information is structured and managed, which suggests a centralized approach to storing and accessing detailed asset data. This directly relates to the "centralized computerized database" and the "information available" for management in US8266124.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s) of US8266124 (under 35 U.S.C. § 102): Potentially anticipates aspects of Claim 1 regarding the use of a "centralized computerized database" to store and manage asset information for subsequent use. Elements related to "recording information" and "monitoring for at least one change" leading to updated information within such a database could also be anticipated. Claims 2 and 3 regarding the types of information and database structure (relational) might also be relevant depending on the specifics of Toyota's system.

3. EP1197886A1

• Full Citation: Abb Research Ltd., "Asset information exchange", EP1197886A1.
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2000-10-12; Publication Date: 2002-04-17.
• Brief Description: This European patent application describes a system for exchanging asset information. The concept of "asset information exchange" implies a method for collecting, distributing, and potentially updating information about assets across different systems or for different purposes. This is fundamental to the aggregation, recording, and managing functions claimed in US8266124.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s) of US8266124 (under 35 U.S.C. § 102): Could potentially anticipate the broad concept of "aggregating information" and making it "available in the centralized computerized database" as described in the summary and implied by Claim 1. If the "exchange" involves continuous updates, then "monitoring for at least one change" and recording that information (Claim 1) could also be implicated.

4. US6256773B1

• Full Citation: Accenture Llp, "System, method and article of manufacture for configuration management in a development architecture framework", US6256773B1.
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1999-08-31; Publication Date: 2001-07-03.
• Brief Description: This patent focuses on configuration management, which inherently involves tracking and managing the state and changes of components within a system. In the context of computer-related hardware devices, this would involve recording initial configurations, monitoring changes, and managing further updates or transitions based on recorded information. This aligns with the "recording information," "monitoring for changes," and "managing additional transition events" aspects of US8266124.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s) of US8266124 (under 35 U.S.C. § 102): Potentially anticipates core elements of Claim 1, particularly "recording information... into a centralized computerized database," "monitoring for at least one change... and recording information associated with the change," and "managing at least one additional transition event... using information available in the centralized computerized database." The specific types of information (e.g., legacy asset information, software application information from Claim 2) might also be covered.

5. US6182212B1

• Full Citation: International Business Machine Corporation, "Method and system for automated migration of user settings to a replacement computer system", US6182212B1.
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1998-12-14; Publication Date: 2001-01-30.
• Brief Description: This patent describes automating the migration of user settings when a computer system is replaced. This is a specific type of "asset transition event" (installation/relocation) that involves managing "user information" and "software application information" (implicitly, as settings often relate to applications) for a "computer-related hardware device." The patent's focus on automation and managing settings for transitions directly relates to the claims of US8266124.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s) of US8266124 (under 35 U.S.C. § 102): Strongly anticipates the concept of "receiving an indication of an occurrence of at least one transition event" (specifically, a replacement/migration) and using information to "perform the asset transition" (as described in the detailed description of US8266124, even if not explicitly in Claim 1). It directly anticipates aspects of Claim 2 concerning "user information" and "software application information" in the context of managing asset transitions. Claims 4 and 5 which specify installation/relocation and desktop/laptop computers as types of transition events and hardware devices are also potentially anticipated.

6. US6026500A

• Full Citation: Electronic Data Systems Corporation, "Method and system for managing computer systems", US6026500A.
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1997-05-13; Publication Date: 2000-02-15.
• Brief Description: This patent provides a method and system for managing computer systems. While broad, the management of computer systems inherently involves tracking hardware, software, configurations, and changes over time, and using this information to facilitate operations or changes. This aligns with the fundamental principles of integrated asset management for computer-related devices.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s) of US8266124 (under 35 U.S.C. § 102): This broad patent could potentially anticipate the general idea of managing "computer-related hardware devices" using collected information as outlined in Claim 1. Depending on its specific disclosure, it might cover aspects of "recording information," "monitoring changes," and "managing additional transition events." Claims 13 and 15 regarding various types of management (project, installation, etc.) and reports generated could also be relevant if the prior art details such capabilities.

7. US6220768B1

• Full Citation: Sun Microsystems, Inc., "Network asset survey tool for gathering data about node equipment", US6220768B1.
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1996-06-28; Publication Date: 2001-04-24.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a tool designed to gather data about node equipment in a network. "Gathering data" is directly analogous to the "aggregating information" step in US8266124. The collected data would form the basis for an asset inventory, which is then used for management. This directly addresses the initial information collection aspect of US8266124.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s) of US8266124 (under 35 U.S.C. § 102): Directly anticipates the information aggregation aspect of US8266124's overall method, particularly the implicit collection of "legacy asset information" (Claim 2) and information about "computer-related hardware devices" (Claim 1, preamble). If the data gathering is ongoing or used for future management decisions, it could also anticipate aspects of "monitoring for at least one change" and using information for "managing at least one additional transition event" (Claim 1).

It is important to note that a definitive determination of anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 would require a detailed, element-by-element comparison of each claim of US8266124 against the full disclosure of each prior art reference, which is beyond the scope of this brief analysis. The potential anticipations listed above are based on the titles, abstracts, and general understanding of the cited prior art in relation to the claims of US8266124.