INTERNET-BASED SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FAIRLY AND SECURELY ENABLING TIMED-CONSTRAINED COMPETITION USING GLOBALLY TIME-SYCHRONIZED CLIENT SUBSYSTEMS AND INFORMATION SERVERS HAVING MICROSECOND CLIENT-EVENT RESOLUTION

• US 20020026321A1
• Filed: 02/26/1999
• Published: 02/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Reveo, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Reveo, Inc.
• Inventors: HAMLIN, GREGORY J., FLANNERY, JAMES P., FARIS, SADEG M.
• Application Number:
  US09/258,573
• Publication Number:
  US 20020026321A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/216 using geographical information, e.g. location of the game device or player using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/335 using Internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/352 involving special game server arrangements, e.g. regional servers connected to a national server or a plurality of servers managing partitions of the game world
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/358 Adapting the game course according to the network or server load, e.g. for reducing latency due to different connection speeds between clients
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/401 Secure communication, e.g. using encryption or authentication
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/407 Data transfer via internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/50 characterized by details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/513 server hierarchy, e.g. local, regional, national or dedicated for different tasks, e.g. authenticating, billing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/532 using secure communication, e.g. by encryption, authentication
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/534 for network load management, e.g. bandwidth optimization, latency reduction
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/552 for downloading to client devices, e.g. using OS version, hardware or software profile of the client device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5546 using player registration data, e.g. identification, account, preferences, game history
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5573 player location
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/575 for trading virtual items
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/18 Legal services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0442 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply asymmetric encryption, i.e. different keys for encryption and decryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for public-key encryption H04L9/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 : using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 : Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 : Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 : Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 : based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 : specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 : Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 : involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 : specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/28 : Timers or timing mechanisms used in protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

An improved system and method of fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet among millions of competitors while compensating for the variable network communication latencies experienced by client machines used by the competitors. The system employs globally time-synchronized Internet information servers and client machines in order to synchronize the initial display of each invitation to respond (e.g. stock price to buy or sell, query to answer, or problem to solve) on a client machine so each competitor can respond to the invitation at substantially the same time, regardless of his or her location on the planet, or the type of Internet-connection used by his or her client machine. Also, by using globally time-synchronized client machines, each competitor'"'"'s response is securely time and space stamped at the client machine to ensure that competitor responses are resolved within microsecond accuracy.

Claims

1. An improved system and method of fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet while avoiding the shortcomings and drawbacks of prior art methodologies.

2. A system for serving and receiving information over the Internet in connection with time-constrained competitive processes so that principles of fairness and fair play which have come to characterize the systems of government, justice, securities, commodities and currency market trading, sportsmanship, and educational testing, in the United States of America and countries abroad, are secured in an economically feasible manner for the betterment of human society.

3. An Internet-based system for enabling time-constrained competition over the Internet among a massive number of competitors while compensating for the variable network communication latencies experienced by client machines used by the competitors.

4. An Internet-based system for fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet, wherein a simultaneous start-time is produced for each and every competitor involved in a particular competition regulated by the system.

5. An Internet-based system for fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet which employs Internet information servers to synchronize the initial display of an invitation to respond (e.g. stock offer, query or problem) on a client machine by shifting the phase of the display refresh cycle.

6. An Internet-based system for fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet, wherein the time delay between a displayed invitation to respond (e.g. stock price, bid offer, or query) and the transmitted response is precisely measured using the instruction counter in the client machine.

7. An Internet-based system for fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet, wherein client-event timing accuracy is markedly improved by using a globally-synchronized hardware timing device at each client machine to time-stamp the competitors repines to the invitation to respond displayed on the display screen of the client machine.

8. An Internet-based system for fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet, wherein each client machine deployed therein is protected against intentional tampering through any means by the competitor using the client machine or by any third party desiring to gain an unfair advantage over other competitors.

9. An Internet-based system for fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet, which is protected against intentional tampering through any means by a competitor or third party intended to disrupt the operation of the competition and otherwise interfere with the enjoyment of other competitors or spectators.

10. An Internet-based system for fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet, which is scalable or extensible and capable of simultaneously supporting a multiplicity of competitions, each involving a virtually unlimited number (e.g. millions) of competitors.

11. An Internet-based system for fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet, which protects against clock device tampering at each client machine by utilizing and comparing multiple clock systems employed in each client machine.

12. An Internet-based system for fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet, wherein each client machine in the system is provided with a client-based hardware extension to improve clock accuracy and precision and therefore improve client-event response characteristics at each such client machine.

13. An Internet-based system for fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet, wherein each client machine in the system is provided with a client-based hardware extension to improve security by means of hardware encryption and decryption.

14. An Internet-based system for fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet, wherein varying degrees of simultaneity can be offered, insuring that the start time on all client machines is simultaneous within tens of milliseconds at the least precise level, to on the order of within a few microseconds when all of the measures provided for are used.

15. An Internet-based system for fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet, wherein one or more a globally-time synchronized Internet-based information servers simultaneously and securely communicate with millions of globally-time synchronized client machines engaged in a predetermined competition supported over the Internet.

16. An Internet-based method for fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet, wherein one or more a globally-time synchronized Internet-based information servers simultaneously and securely communicate with millions of globally-time synchronized client machines engaged in a predetermined competition supported over the Internet.

17. An Internet-based system, wherein each client machine is provided with a hardware device which can precisely time and space stamp an event, and thus securely generate an event only when specific time and space criteria are satisfied, and also verify the authenticity of previously generated time and space stamps produced by the hardware device.

18. A method of time-space stamping which can be used to authenticate electronic-commerce transactions between a vendor, bank and customer with microsecond time accuracy.

19. A system and method for electronically filing legal documents, such as patent applications, property transfer documents and court/litigation documents, with governmental or judicial institutions using the http, file transfer protocols (ftp), electronic data interchange (EDI) techniques, and/or any other file transmission protocols supported over the Internet.

20. A global time-synchronization unit for connection to or embedding within any client machine that is to be used in connection with the Internet-supported system and method of the present invention.

21. A global time-synchronization unit for connection to or embedding within any Internet information server that is to be used in connection with the Internet-supported system and method of the present invention.

22. An improved system and method of receiving information from securities (e.g. stocks and bonds), commodities and/or foreign currency information servers, representing real-time or “

live”

market conditions, and simultaneously disseminating such information to globally-synchronized client machines located world-wide to enable secure “

on-line”

electronic-based securities trading operations, commodities trading operations, and foreign currency trading operations in a fundamentally fair manner.

23. An improved system and method for electronic-based on-line securities trading, commodities trading, and foreign currency trading in a secure and fundamentally fair manner using client machines globally-synchronized with corresponding Internet-based securities trading servers, commodities trading servers, and foreign currency trading servers so that each market competitor is informed about incremental changes in market conditions at substantially the same time and therefore is permitted to respond to such market condition changes (e.g. changes in stock, commodity or currency prices) at substantially the same time in accordance with principles of fundamental fairness and fair play.

24. An improved system and method of simultaneously disseminating securities, commodities, and/or foreign currency information (e.g. real-time price quotes) using globally time-synchronized information servers and client machines.

25. An Internet-based system and method which enables competitors to trade securities, commodities and/or foreign currencies using real-time pricing information that is disseminated to all competitors of a given level of service at substantially the same instant in time using a network of globally time-synchronized information servers and client machines.

26. An Internet-based information network, wherein competition supporting information servers (e.g. market price advertising servers and order execution servers) are time-synchronized with a plurality of globally-distributed time-synchronized client machines that can be preprogrammed so respond to real-time securities prices within micro-second client event accuracy by transmitting time and space stamped orders to purchase and/or sell securities, commodities and/or foreign currencies.