System, method and software for providing persistent business entity identification and linking business entity information in an integrated data depository
First Claim
1. A method of associating a plurality of business records to a business entity of a plurality of business entities, the method comprising:
- (a) associating a first business record, of the plurality of business records, with a first business identifier of a plurality of business identifiers, wherein each business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers is unique;
(b) associating a second business record, of the plurality of business records, with a second business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers; and
(c) when the first business identifier and the second business identifier are determined to correspond to a singular business entity of the plurality of business entities, linking the first business identifier and the second business identifier.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a system, method and software for linking persistent and unique business identifiers, associated with business entities, for associating corresponding business records without a loss of historical records, regardless of subsequent changes, updates, and mergers. In the various embodiments, a first business record, of the plurality of business records, is associated with a first business identifier; and a second business record, which does not match the first record, is associated with a second business identifier. Subsequently, when the first business identifier and the second business identifier are determined to correspond to a singular business entity, the first business identifier and the second business identifier are linked, and respective associations of the first business record and the second business record with the linked first business identifier and second business identifier are maintained, with corresponding source references, and collectively utilized in subsequent search and match determinations.
133 Citations
45 Claims
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1. A method of associating a plurality of business records to a business entity of a plurality of business entities, the method comprising:
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(a) associating a first business record, of the plurality of business records, with a first business identifier of a plurality of business identifiers, wherein each business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers is unique;
(b) associating a second business record, of the plurality of business records, with a second business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers; and
(c) when the first business identifier and the second business identifier are determined to correspond to a singular business entity of the plurality of business entities, linking the first business identifier and the second business identifier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A system for associating a plurality of business records to a business entity of a plurality of business entities, the system comprising:
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a data repository storing the plurality of business records and storing a plurality of business identifiers, wherein each business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers is unique; and
a processor coupled to the data repository, the processor configured to associate a first business record, of the plurality of business records, with a first business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers;
to associate a second business record, of the plurality of business records, with a second business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers; and
when the first business identifier and the second business identifier are determined to correspond to a singular business entity of the plurality of business entities, to link the first business identifier and the second business identifier and to maintain the link of the first business identifier and the second business identifier in the data repository. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A tangible medium storing computer readable software for associating a plurality of business records to a business entity of a plurality of business entities, the tangible medium storing computer readable software comprising:
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a first program construct for associating a first business record, of the plurality of business records, with a first business identifier of a plurality of business identifiers, wherein each business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers is unique;
a second program construct for associating a second business record, of the plurality of business records, with a second business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers; and
a third program construct for linking the first business identifier and the second business identifier when the first business identifier and the second business identifier are determined to correspond to a singular business entity of the plurality of business entities. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A method of associating a plurality of business records to a business entity of a plurality of business entities, the method comprising:
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(a) associating a first business record, of the plurality of business records, with a first business identifier of a plurality of business identifiers, wherein each business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers is unique;
(b) associating a second business record, of the plurality of business records, with a second business identifier of the plurality of business identifiers;
(c) determining that the first business identifier and the second business identifier correspond to a singular business entity when a third business record, of the plurality of business records, matches with a first element of a first plurality of elements of the first business record and further matches with a second element of a second plurality of elements of the second business record, wherein the first plurality of elements and the second plurality of elements each comprise at least two of the following elements;
a business name element, a business address element, a tax identification element, a telephone number element, a standard industry code element, and a client key element; and
(d) when the first business identifier and the second business identifier are determined to correspond to a singular business entity of the plurality of business entities, linking the first business identifier and the second business identifier, and maintaining the respective associations of the first business record and the second business record with the linked first business identifier and second business identifier; and
(e) associating a plurality of business addresses with the first business identifier, each business address of the plurality of business addresses having a unique site identifier of a plurality of site identifiers associated with the first business identifier.
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Specification