US 12032940B2

Here's a concise summary of US Patent 12032940B2:

Title: Multi-platform application integration and data synchronization

Assignee: People Center Inc

Inventors: Siddhartha Gunda, Kyle Michael Boston, Daniel Robert Buscaglia, Dilanka Theshan Dharmasena, Ruhitaj Reddypalli, Nilay Pochhi

Filing Date: 2022-09-02

Issue Date: 2024-07-09

Abstract: Systems, devices, computer-implemented methods, and tangible non-transitory computer-readable media for providing multi-platform application integration and data synchronization with third-party applications. For example, a computer-implemented method performed by a computing device may include obtaining third-party application data associated with a third-party application that is separate from a computing system that comprises organizational data of an organization, analyzing the third-party application data based on one or more rules associated with the computing system and integration information for integrating the third-party application with the organizational data of the organization, processing the third-party application data based on the integration information associated with the third-party application, and performing one or more operations associated with the organizational data based on processing the third-party application data.

Independent Claims Overview:

The patent text provided does not explicitly delineate individual claims, only summarizing "example aspects" in the "SUMMARY" section and describing operations. Based on the provided summary text, three primary independent aspects/claims are presented:

1. Computer-Implemented Method: A method involving a computing device that obtains data from a separate third-party application. This data is then analyzed using rules and integration information specific to the third-party application and the organization's data. Subsequently, the data is processed based on this integration information, leading to operations being performed on the organization's own data.
2. Tangible Non-Transitory Computer-Readable Media: This covers computer-readable storage media containing instructions. When executed by one or more processors in a computing system, these instructions cause the system to perform the same operations as described in the computer-implemented method above: obtaining, analyzing, processing third-party application data, and performing operations on organizational data.
3. Computing System: This encompasses a computing system equipped with one or more processors connected to non-transitory computer-readable media. The instructions on this media, when executed by the processors, enable the system to carry out the operations described in the method and computer-readable media aspects. This includes obtaining, analyzing, processing third-party application data, and performing operations on organizational data.

CAFC 2026 Dockets:
As of April 26, 2026, a search of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) dockets for the specific patent number 12032940B2 did not return any relevant cases for 2026.

As of April 26, 2026, a comprehensive search for litigation involving US patent 12032940B2 has not yielded any known cases in the U.S. federal court system, including dockets from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) and public records platforms like PACER and Unified Patents.

Proceedings overview

As of August 12, 2026, there is no PTAB activity on file for US Patent 12032940B2. This means the patent has not been challenged through any AIA trial proceedings, and all claims remain untested by the PTAB.

Strategic summary

Currently, all claims of US Patent 12032940B2 are UNTESTED at the PTAB. Since no AIA trial proceedings have been filed, there is no estoppel landscape established under § 315(e)(2). This implies that a defendant facing assertion of this patent would have all prior-art grounds available for a potential IPR, PGR, or CBM petition. There are no pattern signals to discern regarding repeated petitioners, aggressive appeals by the patent owner, or involvement of defensive aggregators.

Recommended next steps

If you are a defendant facing assertion of US Patent 12032940B2, the absence of PTAB activity indicates that all claims remain in their originally granted form. Therefore, a thorough prior art search would be a crucial initial step to identify potential grounds for an AIA trial. If strong prior art is found, filing an IPR, PGR, or CBM petition could be a viable defensive strategy to challenge the patent's validity.

Inventors

• Siddhartha Gunda (People Center Inc.)
• Kyle Michael Boston (People Center Inc.)
• Daniel Robert Buscaglia (People Center Inc.)
• Dilanka Theshan Dharmasena (People Center Inc.)
• Ruhitaj Reddypalli (People Center Inc.)
• Nilay Pochhi (People Center Inc.)

All named inventors were employees of People Center Inc. (d/b/a Rippling) at the time of filing, as indicated by the original assignment to People Center Inc. in September 2022. It is common practice for employment agreements to include clauses assigning intellectual property rights to the employer for inventions made within the scope of employment.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent as the original assignee is People Center Inc.. People Center Inc. operates under the name Rippling and is a financial technology company offering a workforce management platform. Rippling provides a comprehensive cloud platform that integrates HR, IT, payroll, and spend management functions into a single system. This platform facilitates employee data management, benefits, payroll, compliance automation, talent acquisition, performance management, and learning management. They offer products such as Rippling Timeclock and Rippling - HR, IT & Finance.

People Center Inc. is an operating company that ships products embodying the claims, specifically their "Rippling" workforce management platform which offers multi-platform application integration and data synchronization. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in California, US. As of August 12, 2026, People Center Inc. is an active and operating company, and is expanding its operations. In May 2025, Rippling raised $450 million in Series G funding, valuing the company at $16.8 billion post-money.

Assignment timeline

• 2022-09-06 (executed) / recorded 2022-09-06 — Reel 060593/0827
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: BOSTON, KYLE MICHAEL; BUSCAGLIA, DANIEL ROBERT; REDDYPALLI, RUHITAJ; DHARMASENA, DILANKA THESHAN; GUNDA, SIDDHARTHA; POCHHI, NILAY
  • Assignee: PEOPLE CENTER, INC.
  • Correspondent: MICHAEL T. NOONAN, ROPES & GRAY LLP, PRUDENTIAL TOWER, 800 BOYLSTON STREET, BOSTON, MA 02199-3600.
  • Context: Original assignment from inventors to the employer.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 12032940B2
    2022 : Filed by People Center Inc
         : Inventors assigned to People Center Inc
    2024 : Issued to People Center Inc

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The sole assignment is from the individual inventors to People Center, Inc., which is an operating company with a workforce management platform called Rippling.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. People Center, Inc. is not identified as a known NPE.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — unclear. While a correspondent is listed for the initial assignment (Michael T. Noonan, Ropes & Gray LLP), there is only one recorded assignment for this patent, making it impossible to determine if the correspondent recurs across a chain for this patent.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There is only one assignment recorded.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present. There is no litigation found for this patent as of April 26, 2026.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. People Center Inc. is an active and growing company.
7. Privateering — not present. People Center Inc. appears to be asserting its own patents as an operating company.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent remains with the original operating company.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion. The patent US12032940B2 was assigned from the individual inventors to People Center Inc. (d/b/a Rippling) on 2022-09-06 (Reel 060593/0827), which is an operating company that develops and markets a workforce management platform embodying the claims. There are no subsequent assignments or any other signals indicative of NPE activity. This suggests that any assertion of this patent would be by an operating company against competitors.

USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 12032940B2, I will use the USPTO's Patent Public Search tool. The USPTO's website provides access to search tools for patents and patent applications. I will search for the specific patent number and then examine the "Cited by" section to find the prior art references that the examiner and/or applicant considered during prosecution.

I will then provide the full citation, publication/filing date, a brief description, and which claim(s) it potentially anticipates under 35 U.S.C. § 102 for each relevant reference. 35 U.S.C. 102 states that an invention is not patentable if it was described in, or obvious in view of, an earlier printed publication.

Since I cannot directly interact with a live USPTO database and provide a list of cited prior art at this moment, I will outline the general approach to be taken once the citations are retrieved.

Once the list of cited prior art for US12032940B2 is obtained from the USPTO database, the following steps would be performed for each reference:

1. Full Citation: Record the complete patent number (e.g., US X,XXX,XXX B1/B2 or US XXXX/XXXXXX A1) or publication details for non-patent literature.
2. Publication/Filing Date: Note the earliest relevant date (e.g., filing date for patents, publication date for articles). This is crucial for 35 U.S.C. § 102 analysis.
3. Brief Description: Summarize the core inventive concept of the prior art reference, focusing on aspects that relate to multi-platform application integration and data synchronization, particularly with third-party applications and organizational data.
4. Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
   • Carefully compare the teachings of the prior art reference with each of the three independent claim aspects of US12032940B2 (Computer-Implemented Method, Tangible Non-Transitory Computer-Readable Media, Computing System).
   • For each claim aspect, determine if every element of that claim is disclosed, either explicitly or inherently, in the prior art reference.
   • If a prior art reference discloses all elements of a claim, it would be considered to anticipate that claim under 35 U.S.C. § 102.
   • State which specific claim(s) (e.g., "Computer-Implemented Method claim," "Tangible Non-Transitory Computer-Readable Media claim," "Computing System claim") are potentially anticipated and provide a brief explanation of how the prior art meets each limitation.

This detailed analysis requires access to the full text of the cited prior art documents, which would be retrieved after the initial USPTO search for citations to US12032940B2.

I cannot complete the analysis of obviousness under 35 U.S.C. § 103 at this time.

The "Prior art" section of this document explicitly states that the actual prior art references for US patent 12032940B2 have not yet been retrieved from the USPTO database. It outlines the steps to be taken once the citations are obtained, rather than providing the citations themselves.

To perform an obviousness analysis, I would need:

1. Specific prior art references: The full citations and detailed descriptions of the prior art documents.
2. Claim comparison: A thorough understanding of what each prior art reference discloses.
3. Motivation to combine: An explanation of why a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) would have been motivated to combine the teachings of multiple prior art references, and a reasonable expectation of success from such a combination.

Without these specific prior art documents, I cannot identify combinations of references or articulate a motivation for combining them to render the claims of US12032940B2 obvious.