Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-24
2003-07-29
Trammell, James P. (Department: 3621)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
C705S037000, C705S052000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06601033
ABSTRACT:
SCOPE OF THE INVENTION
There are many individuals, businesses and government agencies striving to attain mandated energy efficiency measures and reduce the pollution levels they generate. Such specialized pollution reduction creates the need for pollution crediting.
For example, new federal laws, building codes, insurance requirements and local building ordinances require all gas pipes must have energy efficiency measures installed, such as a gas filter, or suffer sanctions. Included within these energy efficiency mandates are requirements for reducing pollution, which creates new opportunities for individual pollution credits of the present invention.
Such energy efficiency measures call for the installation and use of a filter on all gas pipes and/or gas appliances. When the individual consumer installs a gas filter within their gas pipes and produces cleaner gas than was previously available, such reduced pollution has value. It's within this gas cleaning and pollution reduction process, which is the basis for this invention that serves a need, provides benefits and has value.
Starting in 1992, Congress, in it's infinite wisdom, began passing energy efficiency laws such as Public Law 101-614 and 101-625 for example, which call for the use of clean energy and energy efficiency measures on all buildings in the nation. And from another direction, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, passing their own clean air standards penalize local governments for non-attainment of their clean air requirements.
As a partial solution to non-attainable clean air levels, regulators have encouraged the development of “pollution-credit offsets” for large industries who generate tons of air pollution each day, which the Chicago Board of Trade trades on a daily basis.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention.
The method and apparatus of the present invention relate to individual pollution credit development and contract exchanges using electronic networks between pollution credit sellers and buyers. Such method and apparatus provides pollution crediting services to Intemet-based sellers and buyers such as individuals, local governmental agencies, utilities and the like where such third parties are provided with pollution credit calculations, ratings, credit transfers, escrow accounts, holding accounts, encryption, security, electronic signature verification ,E:Mailings, and electronic funds transaction by means of an escrow holder who is electronically networked to such parites.
For example, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the escrow holder receives, documents, stores, retrieves, transfers, evaluates, calculates and protects electronically encrypted information relating to energy efficiency measures and pollution reduction claims from individuals, local government agencies, utilities and related parties.
In another embodiment of the present invention, individuals who had previously provided energy efficiency and reduced pollution information to the electronically networked escrow holder, receive a receipt for each information transaction and pollution claim in the form of an individual pollution credit (ipCredit).
In another embodiment of the present invention, because such energy efficiency measures and pollution reductions are subject to interpretation, the escrow holder evaluates such value based on the following criteria: (1) the type of utility sampled by date, location, and duration; (2) laboratory test results of each sample; (3) accurate measurement of the utility submitted; (4) the volume of tested utility being presented for credit; and, (5) the type of energy efficiency measure used to attain the reduced pollution, such value being determined by the escrow holder and is called “individual pollution credit (ipCredit)”.
Another embodiment of the present invention, provides a method for an electronically networked escrow holder to transfer the ipCredit, where the former relies upon the information provided by the various parties for accuracy, authenticity, honesty and timeliness.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a business method and apparatus is provided that controls the ipCredit without any of the credit owners feeling poorer for the service, because the owner controls the destiny of his credits.
Another embodiment of the present invention, provides a method and apparatus, whereby once the ipCredit is generated via the electronically networked escrow holder, tends to stay there, and herein lies another embodiment of this business method, the escrow holder calculating pollution credits, identifying ownership, maintaining authority and control over how they are used, in concert with the credit owner. The escrow holder issues credits, provides transfers and depository accounts for ipCredits while providing such escrow services for a fee.
2. Background of the Invention
A portion of the material set forth herein is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by any one of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
With the majority of air pollution being produced by individuals, trading in pollution credit offsets is not available to the individual, as is commonly found in industry.
What is needed, is a method that; (1) establishes pollution credit for the individual; (2) provides the means for ascertaining what pollutant is eligible for credit; (3) determines what methods may be used to qualify for claiming a pollution credit; (4) ascribes a value to that pollution credit; (5) determines who wants pollution credits; (6) creates a disinterested third-party judge who can evaluate and ascribe a value for individual pollution credit; (7) determines if there a market that will place a value, in a timely manner to make this method feasible; and (8) determines if there a method and apparatus readily available where individuals can interact with from any location, any time of day or night, in privacy and with security while transacting their pollution credit activities.
For a better understanding of the term “Property rights” reference is made to the following: The Law of Property Rights Protection by Jan G. Laitos, Published 1999, Aspen Law & Business ISBN 0-07-3550152-1
§5.02 Property as a Physical Object or Intangible Interest
The simplest definition of property is one which refers to a tangible thing. Such property typically has physical characteristics and dimensions. It would include both natural resources—land, water, trees, minerals, as well as developed resources—houses, cars, diamond rings.
Property may also be present when the thing has no physical existence, but is instead an intangible legal interest. For constitutional law purposes, the United States Supreme Court and lower courts have found the term “property” sufficiently comprehensive to include an array of intangible interests that (1) may be owned or (2) have value, even though they are not necessarily considered property at common law. These decisions establish that property may exist in a contract. A variety of liens and unsecured claims are considered property deserving a constitutional protection. There may be property in certain private party relationships with private parties, such as with a mortgage, a trade-secret, or a name. There may be property in private party relationships with government, such as when a party has obtained a franchise, or a certain type of license, as well as a government-supplied service. There may also be property in the monetary interest generated from a fund into which a private individual has paid money.
§5.03 Property as the Legal Relationship Between Persons and Things
Another definition of property refers to the set of legal rules governing the relationship between persons with regard to the “things” in the external world. As noted above, these things can be tangible physical property (e.g., land, water, boats, jewelry) or intangible interests (e.g., corporate
Cheung Mary
Messner Harold D.
Trammell James P.
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