{
  "patent_number": "US 10540437",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Automated Systems Generate and Track Consumer Dispute Letters",
  "original_title": "System and interface for electronic communication generation and tracking",
  "summary": "A software system that helps consumers write, format, and send formal complaint letters to businesses by turning simple questionnaire answers into professional, legally-compliant documents.",
  "what_it_does": "This system acts as a digital intermediary between a consumer and a business. It uses an interactive interface to ask the user questions about their dispute, then uses a transformation component to map those answers into specific fields within a pre-existing legal or business template. The system is designed to understand the specific requirements of different businesses, such as a telecommunications company requiring a specific 'notice of dispute' before arbitration. Once the letter is generated, the system can trigger its delivery and even track the status of the communication through postal services or digital messaging APIs.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover general-purpose word processors or email clients that lack automated dispute-specific template mapping.",
    "Does not cover systems that do not perform automated transformation of user input into business-specific template field entries.",
    "Does not cover manual letter drafting where the system does not actively validate the content against business-specific requirements.",
    "Does not cover dispute resolution platforms that act as a neutral third-party mediator rather than a consumer-side communication tool."
  ],
  "filed": "2016-04-25",
  "granted": "2020-01-21",
  "expires": "2036-04-25",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Individual",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/individual",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Jon Fougner",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/jon-fougner"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 3,
  "tags": [
    "software",
    "ecommerce",
    "finance"
  ],
  "abstract": "Various systems and methods are disclosed for enabling a consumer's creation of a communication (e.g., letter, e-mail) addressed to a provider of goods and/or services. Manually and/or automatically by providing access to one or more existing data repositories, the user completes a software-presented questionnaire, and responses are used by the system to customize and populate a templated form. The form identifies, elaborates and, in some cases, quantifies problems with the provider's performance. The system focuses on form letters by consumers to businesses, thereby increasing its depth while avoiding unnecessary complexity. Some embodiments also (at the user's instruction) submit portions of the communication to third parties (e.g., regulatory agencies), track delivery of the communication, and provide background information relating consumer communications with businesses. Some embodiments are tailored to requirements of providers for selected correspondence (e.g., a “notice of dispute” telecommunications providers purport to require before allowing contractual right to arbitration).",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10540437/system-and-interface-for-electronic-communication-generation-and-tracking",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10540437/system-and-interface-for-electronic-communication-generation-and-tracking/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US10540437",
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}