[CYBERIA] H&R Block sued over "electronic transaction" method patent

[R. A. Hettinga]

--- begin forwarded text


Status:  U
Thread-Topic: [CYBERIA] Combining Verizon DMCA case with Grokster
Thread-Index: AcMU4iXZDMSa+RRWQF2ZUhfFWfqnygAAvxfwAlB7E0AAkYhJYAEs5nrAAGjbCxAAB3Zw8ADDJcDQADTT+2AALZj34AAK9CcQAMC7Y7ADgxgEkA==
Date:         Fri, 27 Jun 2003 10:02:33 -0400
Reply-To:     Law & Policy of Computer Communications              <CYBERIA-L at LISTSERV.AOL.COM>
Sender:       Law & Policy of Computer Communications              <CYBERIA-L at LISTSERV.AOL.COM>
From:         "Ebert, Lawrence B." <LEbert at REEDSMITH.COM>
Subject: [CYBERIA] H&R Block sued over "electronic transaction" method patent
To:           CYBERIA-L at LISTSERV.AOL.COM

Yodlee Inc. has filed suit against H&R Block Inc. and its Block
Financial Corp. division, claiming infringement of patent claims
relating to a method for delivering non-public personal information
relating to an end user via a wide-area computer network . The
Complaint asserts Block uses technology within the scope of claims of
U.S. Patent No. 6,317,783, captioned "Apparatus and methods for
automated aggregation and delivery of and transactions involving
electronic personal information or data," issued November 13, 2001,
filed October 27, 1999. [There is a priority claim to a provisional
filed Oct. 28,1998).

The patent was initially assigned by the inventors Gregg Freishtat and
Paliniswamy Rajan to Verticalone Corp. (Atlanta, GA), which merged
with Yodlee in December 2000.

The text of claim 1 is as follows.

1. A method for delivering non-public personal information relating to
   an end user via a wide-area computer network to an end user from at
   least one of a plurality of information providers securely storing
   the personal information under control of a processor located
   remotely from the information providers and the end user, the
   method comprising the steps of:

(a) the processor connecting with at least one information provider;

(b) for a selected end user, the processor retrieving personal
    information for the selected end user from the connected at least
    one information provider based on end user data associated with
    the selected end user and information provider data associated
    with the connected one or more information providers, the end user
    data including information identifying the plurality of
    information providers securely storing the personal information
    relating to the end user, the provider data including a protocol
    for instructing the processor how to access the securely stored
    personal information via the network, the information accessible
    to the processor using the protocol also being accessible by the
    end user via the network independently of the system for
    delivering personal information; and 

(c) the processor storing the retrieved personal information in a
    personal information store for access by the selected end user. 


Lawrence B. Ebert
June 27, 2003 at 10:02am


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This message is sent in confidence for the addressee only. It may
contain legally privileged information. The contents are not to be
disclosed to anyone other than the addressee. Unauthorised
recipients are requested to preserve this confidentiality and to
advise us of any errors in transmission. Thank you.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request at listserv.aol.com
**********************************************************************

--- end forwarded text


-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cryptography Mailing List
Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to majordomo at metzdowd.com