Method and device for settling a dispute between at least one claimant and at least one defendant

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for settling a dispute between at least one claimant and at least one defendant, carried out by one or more devices. The invention also relates to a device or a system consisting of at least two devices, and to a computer program product.

Description

[0001] September 26, 2024 Method and device for dispute resolution between at least one claimant and at least one respondent FieldExemplary embodiments of the invention relate to methods, devices, systems and computer programs for (online) dispute resolution between at least one claimant and at least one respondent. BackgroundMethods for (online) dispute resolution are already known from the prior art bekannt.WO 00 / 08582 A1 concerns a bidding process in which two parties each enter a sum of money they would be willing to pay to resolve a dispute. The offers remain hidden from the other side. On one side is the claimant, for example, a potential plaintiff represented by a lawyer, who is demanding a payment from a defendant, such as an insurance company. The claimant can first enter details about the opposing party and the dispute and enter tiered proposals for the amount of claim they would be willing to pay to settle the dispute. These entries are called rounds. The defendant is then informed and enters the first proposal. This is then compared with the claimant's first proposal.If the claim is equal to or lower than the corresponding willingness to pay, a binding agreement is reached based on the average of both amounts. If not, the claimant and defendant can submit new proposals.WO 2014 / 024190 A1 relates to a method for dispute resolution comprising the following steps: displaying a questionnaire comprising at least one question to a user via a display device, wherein the at least one question has a predetermined number of possible answers and wherein the at least one question can be displayed by the user; receiving at least one answer to the at least one question from the user; receiving details of an additional person from the user; sending the questionnaire to the additional person; receiving at least one answer to the at least one question from the additional person; automatically comparing answers given to the at least one question by the user and by the additional person and generating a report based on the agreement between the answers and a predetermined guideline; and sending the report to the user and to the additional person.A particular disadvantage of the prior art methods is the potential inexperience and emotionality of the claimant. Private individuals, in particular, often have difficulty making realistic bids. Game theory dictates that the respective expected value is usually used as the agreed value between the claimant and the defendant. Therefore, it would be expedient for the claimant to offer at least the expected value of their respective claim as their initial bid. However, since the calculation of the expected value does not involve the full amount of the respective claim, but rather also takes into account risk discounts, savings effects, etc., the claimant often uses an excessively high value.From a legal-economic perspective, the problem lies in the fact that the parties arrive at different objectives regarding the expected value due to diverging sets of information. However, a traditional, open settlement procedure (e.g., mediation) does not require any H. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024 Incentives to disclose this expected value to the other parties involved in the proceedings. Furthermore, initiating dispute resolution proceedings is often complex, as details regarding the dispute or the respective claim involve legal details and therefore require extensive processing. Alternatively, asserting a claim in court is also an option. However, the costs for lawyers, court fees, and possibly also for experts can be considerable, so potential claimants often do not initiate legal proceedings, especially for smaller amounts in dispute.Summary of some exemplary embodiments of the inventionThe present invention therefore has for its object to overcome one or more of the disadvantages described above and / or to obtain one or more of the advantages described above and / or to achieve one or more of the desired improvements described above.According to a first exemplary aspect of the invention, a method for dispute resolution between at least one claimant (also called case opener) and at least one respondent, carried out by one or more devices, is disclosed, the method comprising: receiving at least one claim comprising claim information indicative of the content of the claim from at least one claimant; determining at least one bid proposal for the at least one claimant and / or the at least one respondent based on the claim information; outputting the at least one bid proposal to the at least one claimant and / or the at least one respondent; receiving at least one bid from the at least one claimant based at least partially on the bid proposal; transmitting the at least one claim of the at least one respondent. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024 a claimant to at least one respondent; receiving at least one settlement offer from the at least one respondent; determining at least one difference between the at least one bid of the at least one claimant and the at least one settlement offer of the at least one respondent; issuing at least one notification to the at least one claimant and / or the at least one respondent depending on the difference determination. According to further aspects of the present invention, the following are further disclosed: - A computer program comprising program instructions that cause a processor to execute and / or control the method according to the first aspect of the invention when the computer program is running on the processor.In this specification, a processor is understood to include, among other things, control units, microprocessors, microcontrol units such as microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). In this case, either all steps of the method can be controlled, or all steps of the method can be executed, or one or more steps can be controlled and one or more steps executed. The computer program can, for example, be distributed via a network such as the Internet, a telephone or mobile network, and / or a local area network. The computer program can be at least partially software and / or firmware of a processor. It can also be implemented at least partially as hardware. The computer program can, for example, be stored on a computer-readable storage medium, e.g.a magnetic, electrical, optical, and / or other storage medium. The storage medium may, for example, be part of the processor, such as a (non-volatile or volatile) program memory of the processor or a partH. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024 thereof. The storage medium can, for example, be a tangible or physical storage medium. - A device or a system comprising two, three, or more devices, the device or system being configured to execute and / or control the method according to the first aspect of the invention or comprising respective means for executing and / or controlling the steps of the method according to the first aspect of the invention. Either all steps of the method can be controlled, or all steps of the method can be executed, or one or more steps can be controlled and one or more steps can be executed. One or more of the means can also be executed and / or controlled by the same unit. For example, one or more of the means can be formed by one or more processors. A device can, for example, be a mobile device, such as a smartphone.A device can also be, for example, a laptop or another electronic device. A device can, for example, be a server. A server can also be understood, for example, as a part of a server, such as a logical or functional unit. A server is therefore also to be understood, in particular, as a system comprising several devices that jointly provide a server function, for example, a server cloud. In exemplary embodiments, each of the devices described above can cooperate with one or more further devices for executing and / or controlling the method according to the first aspect of the invention. A device that executes and / or controls the method according to the first aspect of the invention can do so, for example, with the support of or in cooperation with another device, for example, a server that executes (intermediate) steps of the method. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024 - A device comprising at least one processor and at least one memory containing program code, wherein the memory and the program code are configured to cause a device with the at least one processor to execute and / or control at least the method according to the first aspect of the invention. Either all steps of the method can be controlled, or all steps of the method can be executed, or one or more steps can be controlled and one or more steps can be executed. The various exemplary aspects of the present invention can, among other things, have the properties described below. The step of receiving at least one claim comprising claim information can be performed, for example, by a potential user first registering on an (online) platform and providing information about their at least one claim during the case opening process.In addition, the user can provide documents from which claim information indicative of the content of the at least one claim can be extracted. For example, these documents can be stored on the (online) platform for the case to provide evidence of information about the case for the at least one defendant. The documents provided can, for example, be contracts and / or other documents that substantiate the at least one claimant's claim against the at least one defendant. Based on the claim information, at least one bid proposal can then be determined for the at least one claimant. Preferably, the at least one bid proposal is not a singular numerical value, but rather a range within which it is recommended to submit a bid.It was found that the claimant, by means of such assistance in the form of a bid proposal,H. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024 ("nudging") can be induced to a more realistic bidding behavior. Preferably, the at least one bid suggestion is based at least partially on the claim information of the respective claim. For example, the specific claim is compared with information in a database using the claim information, and based on such a comparison, a bid suggestion in the form of a corridor for a bid is determined. After the at least one bid suggestion has been determined, the at least one bid suggestion can be issued to the at least one claimant. This provides the claimant with an essentially neutral assessment of a realistic claim amount, so that the claimant can be induced to submit a bid that may be at least partially consistent with an expected value.Such a bid from the claimant, based at least partially on the bid proposal, can then be received. Preferably, the at least one bid is already based at least partially on a bid proposal as soon as the at least one claimant has become aware of the at least one bid proposal. In such a case, the at least one claimant at least subconsciously considers the at least one bid proposal (so-called psychological anchoring effect). In order to inform the at least one respondent of the at least one claimant's claim, the at least one claim can then be transmitted to at least one respondent. For example, such transmission can take place based on the claim information. For example, the transmission can take place by mail and / or email.It is preferred that the at least one respondent is not informed of the amount of the at least one bid of the at least one claimant.H. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024. Subsequently, the at least one respondent can submit a settlement offer, which can subsequently be received. Preferably, a proposed settlement offer for the respondent can also be determined based on the claim information, so that the at least one settlement offer of the at least one respondent is at least partially based on the proposed settlement offer. A difference can be determined based on the at least one bid of the at least one claimant and the at least one settlement offer of the at least one respondent. The difference is, for example, an amount by which the claimant's bid and the respondent's settlement offer differ. Finally, depending on the determination of the difference, a notification can be issued to the at least one claimant and / or the at least one respondent.If, for example, the determined difference satisfies a predefined criterion, in particular, for example, if the at least one bid and the at least one settlement offer deviate only slightly from one another within a predefined tolerance range, the at least one claimant and the at least one respondent can be informed that the settlement has been successfully concluded and, preferably, an automatically generated settlement agreement can be sent to both the at least one claimant and the at least one claimant. Exemplary embodiments and further advantages of the exemplary aspects of the invention are described below, whereby the disclosure thereof is intended to apply equally to all aspects of the invention.According to an exemplary embodiment of all aspects of the invention, determining the at least one bid proposal for the at least one claimant may be based at least in part on a predictive model, whereinH. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024, the prediction model includes training data. For example, the prediction model can be an AI-based algorithm, which can include a plurality of models. Using such a prediction model including training data, at least one bid proposal can be transmitted to the at least one claimant that lies within a corridor of an expected value of the at least one claim.A further exemplary embodiment of all aspects of the invention is characterized in that the training data at least partially comprises the following data: (i) legal decisions; (ii) from successfully concluded settlements in the past, in particular by means of the present method, particularly preferably from data stored on the (online) platform; and / or (iii) information on successfully concluded settlements that is publicly accessible and / or collected by companies such as legal protection insurers and / or mediation providers; and wherein the data is cleaned and / or provided with metadata, in particular before being used as training data. This allows valid information to be used as training data for the prediction model. For example, the legal decisions and / or the data provided by the defendant can originate from a collected data set.Preferably, the training data contains the respective details of the case, the parties involved, the full text of the respective decision, and / or the amount of the respective settlement. In particular, it may be advantageous for further use if the data is cleaned and / or provided with metadata before use as training data. For example, the data can be cleaned by removing irrelevant information. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024. A further preferred embodiment is characterized in that the training data is processed using natural language processing, in particular using named entity recognition, text classification, and / or topic modeling. This enables reliable extraction of the relevant features from the training data. For example, various factors such as the relevant legal area, the type of damage caused, the jurisdiction, and / or other details can be extracted.A further exemplary embodiment of all aspects of the invention is characterized in that the prediction model is based on at least one of the following models: (i) at least one regression model for predicting the at least one bid proposal; (ii) at least one classification model for predicting at least one relevant legal area; (iii) at least one cluster model for determining a similarity between claims, wherein at least one of the models (i) to (iii) is based in particular on machine learning and / or a deep learning model, such as BERT and / or GPT-4. This makes it possible to provide a prediction model which, using the provided training data, reliably determines the at least one bid proposal for the at least one claimant and / or the at least one defendant.A further exemplary embodiment of all aspects of the invention is characterized in that at least one of the models ((i) to (iii)) is evaluated using an evaluation methodology, for example by determining a mean absolute error in the at least one regression model and / or by determining an F1 score in the at least one classification model; and wherein preferably at least one of the models ((i) to (iii)) is adapted depending on the result of the evaluation methodology. This enables continuous improvement of the prediction model. In particular, with repeated application of the described method, the data thus available can be used to evaluate the prediction model. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024 and / or further improve it. For example, the accuracy of the regression model can be determined and subsequently improved using the mean absolute error of the at least one regression model. For example, the accuracy and hit rate of the at least one classification model can be determined using the F1 score of the at least one classification model. A further exemplary embodiment of all aspects of the invention is characterized in that at least one of the models ((i) to (iii)) is adapted depending on bid proposals determined in the past and / or depending on feedback from the at least one claimant and / or the at least one respondent. This enables continuous improvement of the prediction model, so that the determined bid proposals can be continually improved over the term of the respective procedure.A further exemplary embodiment of all aspects of the invention is characterized in that the at least one bid of the at least one claimant is not disclosed to the at least one respondent and / or that the at least one settlement offer of the at least one respondent is not disclosed to the at least one claimant. This can prevent the at least one claimant and / or the at least one respondent from being influenced by the respective other bid or settlement offer before submitting the bid or settlement offer. Furthermore, influence can also be avoided during the conduct of further rounds with bids or settlement offers.A further exemplary embodiment of all aspects of the invention is characterized in that the claim information is extracted, in particular automatically, from documents provided by the at least one claimant; and that the provided documents preferably substantiate the claim of the at least one claimant. This facilitates H. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024, in particular, the accessibility of the described procedure for at least one claimant. The claimant typically has documents and / or records containing the essential information on the respective claim. In contractual disputes, this could be the respective contract, for example. The claim information can then be extracted from the provided documents. For example, the provided documents can first be cleaned up by removing noise and unnecessary information. In particular, punctuation and lowercase letters can be removed, the content can be tokenized, stop words removed, and / or the content can be edited using stemming / lemmatization. The claim information can then be comprehensively extracted, in particular, the names of the parties involved, certain legal terms, dates, contract specifics, etc.For example, it can be extracted using natural language processing. Algorithms such as Named Entity Recognition, which are based in particular on pre-trained models such as BERT, RoBERTa, and / or the NER method, can preferably be used for this purpose. The extracted claim information can then be classified accordingly so that it can be correctly assigned within the process. Based on the extracted data, case details indicative of the respective claim can then be generated. Natural language processing techniques, such as text generation models such as GPT-4, can also be used for this purpose. The extracted claim information is preferably used as part of a continuous learning process to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of the respective process. For example, the continuous H. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024. The learning process may include manual review and correction to provide a further review loop. A further exemplary embodiment of all aspects of the invention is characterized in that the claim information is used to check (i) whether sufficient claim information is available for the at least one claim to be transmitted to the at least one respondent; and / or (ii) whether the claim is suitable for the dispute resolution procedure. This can further improve the user-friendliness of the procedure. If insufficient claim information is available, the claimant can be explicitly requested to submit the missing information and / or add it manually. If the claim is not suitable for the dispute resolution procedure, the user is also informed so that they can assert their claim via another method.A further exemplary embodiment of all aspects of the invention is characterized in that, as part of the step of issuing at least one notification, it is further checked whether the difference determination meets at least one predefined criterion. This allows the claimant and / or the claimant to be informed whether an agreement can be reached and the dispute can be settled accordingly. A further exemplary embodiment of all aspects of the invention is characterized in that, upon fulfillment of the at least one predefined criterion, a settlement agreement is preferably created automatically based on the claim information and based on the at least one bid and the at least one settlement offer. This allows the claim of the at least one claimant to be settled in a legally binding and user-friendly manner.For example, the settlement agreement can be specific to different situations. In particular, the settlement agreement depends on the asserted claims—for example, a severance payment. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024, following termination, purchase contract claims, and / or tort claims – is pre-formulated and automatically supplemented with the claim information. Preferably, an explicit signature of the created settlement agreement is not necessary, since both the at least one bid and the at least one settlement offer can already be interpreted as decisive declarations of intent for the conclusion of the settlement agreement, and the settlement agreement does not require any special form. For example, at least one predefined criterion is met if the at least one bid and the at least one settlement offer are within a tolerance range. For example, the at least one bid and the at least one settlement offer are within a tolerance range if the deviation of the at least one bid from the at least one settlement offer is less than or equal to 10%.A further exemplary embodiment of all aspects of the invention is characterized in that, if the at least one predefined criterion is not met, the at least one claimant is requested to submit at least one further bid and / or the at least one opponent is requested to submit at least one further settlement offer; and that the at least one claimant and / or the at least one opponent is preferably informed of the extent to which the at least one further bid and / or the at least one further settlement offer needs to be adjusted so that the at least one predefined criterion is met. This enables further rounds of the aforementioned procedure, so that both the at least one claimant and the at least one opponent can further accommodate the respective side.Preferably, at least one further bid proposal and / or one further comparison offer proposal is issued to the at least one claimant and / or the at least one opponent, wherein these are within the tolerance range, so that upon a corresponding submission the at least one predefined criterion is met.H. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024 If no agreement is reached between the at least one claimant and the at least one respondent even after submitting at least one further bid and / or at least one further settlement offer, the method may further comprise determining at least one settlement amount that can be accepted by the claimant and / or the respondent. For example, the at least one settlement amount may be the arithmetic mean of the at least one further bid and the at least one further settlement offer. For example, the at least one settlement amount may also be based on the accumulation of various user metrics and / or on the previously described training of the prediction model. The above-described embodiments and exemplary configurations of all aspects of the present invention are also to be understood as disclosed in all combinations with one another.Further advantageous exemplary embodiments of the invention can be found in the following detailed description of some exemplary embodiments of the present invention, particularly in conjunction with the figures. However, the figures appended to the application are intended only for the purpose of clarification, and not to determine the scope of the invention. The accompanying drawings are not necessarily to scale and are intended merely to reflect the general concept of the invention by way of example. In particular, features contained in the figures should in no way be considered a necessary part of the present invention. The order of the individual steps in the flowcharts does not necessarily specify the actual (chronological) order of the steps and is merely exemplary.Nevertheless, the steps can occur / be performed in the exact sequence shown in the flowcharts. Furthermore, they can, but do not have to, be performed in reaction to one another. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024. Shown are: Fig. 1 shows a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of a method according to the first aspect of the present invention; and Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of a device according to a further aspect of the invention, which can be used in the context of the present invention. Fig. 1 shows a flowchart 200 of a method according to the first aspect, which can be carried out by a device, for example a device from Fig. 2. In a first step 201, at least one claim comprising claim information indicative of the content of the at least one claim is received from at least one claimant. For example, step 201 is carried out by a potential claimant registering as a user on an (online) platform and providing documents comprising claim information.In a next step 202, at least one bid proposal is determined for the at least one claimant based on the claim information. For example, the bid proposal can be a corridor within which a claimant is recommended to submit a bid. In a further step 203, the at least one bid proposal is output to the at least one claimant. This informs the claimant of the previously determined bid proposal. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024 In a further step 204, at least one bid from the at least one claimant is received, based at least partially on the at least one bid proposal. By acknowledging the at least one bid proposal, the at least one bid from the claimant is based at least partially on the at least one bid proposal. In a step 205 following the first step 201, the at least one claim of the at least one claimant is transmitted to at least one respondent. Step 205 can, in particular, be carried out parallel to steps 202 to 204. This allows the at least one respondent to be informed of the at least one claim of the at least one claimant. In a step 206 following step 205, at least one settlement offer from the at least one respondent is received.In a step 207 following steps 204 and 206, at least one difference is determined between the at least one bid of the at least one claimant and the at least one settlement offer of the at least one respondent. For example, the difference determination may involve determining a deviation between the bid and the settlement offer. In a final step 208, at least one notification is issued to the at least one claimant and / or the at least one respondent depending on the difference determination. For example, in step 208, the at least one claimant and / or the at least one respondent can be informed whether at least one predefined criterion is met. If the at least one predefined criterion is met, a settlement agreement can be created automatically, for example. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024 Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of an exemplary embodiment of a device according to a further aspect. The device 400 can be configured, for example, as a server. The device 400 comprises a processor 410 with associated main memory 411 and program memory 412. The processor 410 executes, for example, program instructions stored in the program memory 412. The program instructions execute and / or control the method according to the first aspect of the invention. Thus, the program memory 412 contains a computer program according to an exemplary aspect of the invention and represents a computer program product for storing it. Device 400 represents an example of a device according to the further aspect of the invention. The program memory 412 can be, for example, a persistent memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM).The program memory can, for example, be permanently connected to the processor 410, but can alternatively also be detachably connected to the processor 410, for example as a memory card, floppy disk, or optical data storage medium (e.g., a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray). Further information can also be stored in the program memory 412, or in a separate memory. The main memory 411 is used, for example, to store temporary results during the execution of the program instructions. This is, for example, a volatile memory, such as a random access memory (RAM). The processor 410 is further connected, for example, to a communication interface 413, which enables, for example, an exchange of information with other devices and / or, for example, indirectly with the at least one claimant or the at least one defendant. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024. The device 400 may also include further components, e.g., a user interface, in particular a display and / or input / output device 414 (e.g., keyboard and / or mouse) for capturing one or more user inputs and / or for (e.g., visually) outputting information to a user of the device 400. Optionally, the device 400 may include a database, in particular for storing one or more counter values, identification information, look-up tables, or a combination thereof, to name only a few non-limiting examples. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention described in this specification are also to be understood as disclosed in all combinations with one another.In particular, the description of a feature encompassed by an embodiment – ​​unless explicitly stated otherwise – should not be understood in this case to imply that the feature is essential or essential for the function of the embodiment. The sequence of the method steps described in this specification in the individual flowcharts is not mandatory; alternative sequences of the method steps are conceivable. The method steps can be implemented in various ways; for example, implementation in software (through program instructions), hardware, or a combination of both is conceivable for implementing the method steps.All disclosures in this specification are to be understood with regard to all categories of device, method, and computer program, so that, for example, the description of a method step also discloses a corresponding device comprising means for executing and / or controlling the method step, and a corresponding device configured to control and / or execute the method step. Terms used in the patent claims such as "comprise," "have," "include," "contain," and the like do not exclude further elements or steps. The phrase "at least partially" covers both the case H. F / HF 230562WOSeptember 26, 2024, "partially" and the case "completely." The wording "and / or" is to be understood to mean that both the alternative and the combination are to be disclosed, thus "A and / or B" means "(A) or (B) or (A and B)." A plurality of units, persons, or the like, in the context of this specification, means several units, persons, or the like. The use of the indefinite article does not exclude a plurality. A single device can perform the functions of several units or devices mentioned in the patent claims. Reference symbols specified in the patent claims are not to be considered limitations on the means and steps employed. F / HF 230562WO September 26, 2024

Claims

September 26, 2024 Patent Claims 1. A method for dispute resolution between at least one claimant and at least one opponent, carried out by one or more devices, the method comprising: - receiving at least one claim comprising claim information indicative of the content of the claim from at least one claimant; - determining at least one bid proposal for the at least one claimant based on the claim information; - outputting the at least one bid proposal to the at least one claimant; - receiving at least one bid from the at least one claimant based at least partially on the at least one bid proposal; - transmitting the at least one claim of the at least one claimant to at least one opponent, in particular without disclosing its amount; - receiving at least one settlement offer from the at least one opponent;- Determining at least one difference between the at least one bid of the at least one claimant and the at least one settlement offer of the at least one respondent; - Issuing at least one notification to the at least one claimant and / or the at least one respondent depending on the difference determination; - 2 -2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the at least one bid proposal for the at least one claimant is based at least in part on a predictive model; und- wherein the prediction model comprises training data.

3. Method according to claim 2, - wherein the training data at least partially comprises the following data: (i) legal decisions; (ii) settlements successfully concluded in the past, in particular by means of the present method; and / or (iii) information on successfully concluded settlements that is publicly accessible and / or stored by companies such as legal protection insurers and / or mediation providers; and - wherein the data is cleaned and / or provided with metadata, in particular before use as training data.

4. Method according to claim 2 or 3, - wherein the training data is processed by means of natural language processing, in particular by means of named entity recognition, text classification and / or topic modeling. 5.Method according to one of claims 2 to 4, - wherein the prediction model is based on at least one of the following models: (i) at least one regression model for predicting the at least one bid proposal; (ii) at least one classification model for predicting at least one relevant legal area; (iii) at least one cluster model for determining a similarity between claims, H. F / HF 230562WO September 26, 2024 - 3 -- wherein at least one of the models (i) to (iii) is based in particular on machine learning and / or a deep learning model, such as BERT and / or GPT-4.

6. The method according to claim 5, - wherein at least one of the models ((i) to (iii)) is evaluated using an evaluation methodology, for example by determining a mean absolute error in the at least one regression model or by determining an F1 score in the at least one classification model; and - wherein at least one of the models ((i) to (iii)) is adapted depending on the result of the evaluation methodology.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, - wherein the prediction model, in particular at least one of the models ((i) to (iii)), is adapted depending on bid proposals determined in the past and / or depending on feedback from the at least one claimant. 8.Method according to one of claims 1 to 7, - wherein the at least one bid of the at least one claimant is not disclosed to the at least one respondent and / or - wherein the at least one settlement offer of the at least one respondent is not disclosed to the at least one claimant.

9. Method according to one of claims 1 to 8, - wherein the claim information is extracted, in particular automatically, from documents provided by the at least one claimant; and - wherein the provided documents preferably substantiate the claim of the at least one claimant.H. F / HF 230562WO September 26, 2024 - 4 -10. The method according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the claim information is used to check (i) whether sufficient claim information is available so that the at least one claim can be transmitted to the at least one respondent; and / or (ii) whether the claim is suitable for the dispute resolution procedure.

11. The method according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein, as part of the step of issuing at least one notification, it is further checked whether the difference determination fulfills at least one predefined criterion.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein, upon fulfillment of the at least one predefined criterion, a settlement agreement is preferably created automatically based on the claim information and based on the at least one bid and the at least one settlement offer.13.Method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein, if the at least one predefined criterion is not met, the at least one claimant is requested to submit at least one further bid and / or the at least one opponent is requested to submit at least one further settlement offer; and, wherein the at least one claimant and / or the at least one opponent is preferably informed of the extent to which the at least one further bid and / or the at least one further settlement offer needs to be adjusted so that the at least one predefined criterion is met. F / HF 230562WO September 26, 2024 - 5 -14. A device or system comprising at least two devices, wherein the device or system is configured to execute and / or control the method according to one of claims 1 to 13 or comprises respective means for executing and / or controlling the steps of the method according to one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A computer program comprising program instructions that cause a processor to execute and / or control the method according to one of claims 1 to 13 when the computer program is running on the processor.H F / HF 230562WO September 26, 2024

Images