Methods and systems for authenticating communications
First Claim
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1. A method for authenticating electro-magnetically propagated communications, comprising the steps of:
- an intermediary receiving at least one electro-magnetically communication from at least one sender which is intended for at least one recipient;
said intermediary transferring said at least one communication to said at least one recipient; and
said intermediary storing a transcript including at least part of a content of said at least one communication and a time associated with said at least one communication;
wherein a period of said storing complies with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all said at least one sender and all said at least one recipient; and
wherein during said period of said storing, said transcript can not be modified by any of said at least one sender nor by any of said at least one recipient.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Provided are methods and systems for authenticating communications. An intermediary authenticates one or more communications by transferring communications and by storing information about the communications. The stored information at least includes times associated with the communications and at least part of the contents of the communications. The stored information may in some cases be later retrieved in order to provide authentication of the communications, for example in the case of a dispute involving one or more parties to the communications.
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Citations
77 Claims
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1. A method for authenticating electro-magnetically propagated communications, comprising the steps of:
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an intermediary receiving at least one electro-magnetically communication from at least one sender which is intended for at least one recipient;
said intermediary transferring said at least one communication to said at least one recipient; and
said intermediary storing a transcript including at least part of a content of said at least one communication and a time associated with said at least one communication;
wherein a period of said storing complies with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all said at least one sender and all said at least one recipient; and
wherein during said period of said storing, said transcript can not be modified by any of said at least one sender nor by any of said at least one recipient. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 28, 29, 30)
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23. A method for authenticating communications, comprising the steps of:
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an intermediary receiving at least one communication from at least one sender which is intended for at least one recipient;
said intermediary transferring said at least one communication to said at least one recipient; and
said intermediary storing a transcript including at last part of a content of said at least one communication and a time associated with said at least one communication;
wherein a period of said storing complies with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all said at least one sender and all said at least one recipient; and
wherein during said period of said storing, said transcript can not be modified by any of said at least one sender nor by any of said at least one recipient.
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25. A method for authenticating electro-magnetically propagated communications, comprising the steps of:
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a trusted intermediary receiving at least one electro-magnetically communication from at least one sender which is intended for at least one recipient;
said intermediary transferring said at least one communication to said at least one recipient; and
said intermediary storing a transcript including at least part of a content of said at least one communication and a time associated with said at least one communication;
said transcript being configured to serve as evidence in the case of a dispute involving at least one party from a group including;
said at least one sender and said at least one recipient;
wherein a period of said storing complies with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all said at least one sender and all said at least one recipient; and
wherein during said period of said storing, said transcript can not be modified by any of said at least one sender nor by any of said at least one recipient.
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26. A method for providing authentication of electro-magnetically propagated communications, comprising the steps of:
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receiving an inquiry from an inquirer about at least one electro-magnetically propagated communication which involving a trusted intermediary;
retrieving a transcript stored by said intermediary, said transcript including at least part of a content of said at least one communication and a time associated with said at least one communication; and
transferring said script to said inquirer;
wherein said transferred transcript is used as evidence in a dispute involving at least one party from a group including;
at least one sender and at least one recipient of at least one of said at least one communication;
wherein said stored transcript was stored for a period complying with at least one from the group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all said at least one sender and all said at least one recipient, and wherein during said period of storing, said transcript could not be modified by any of said at least one sender nor by any of said at least one recipient.
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27. A method for diverting electro-magnetically propagated communications for authentication, comprising the steps of:
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a diverter receiving at least one electro-magnetically propagated communication from at least one sender which is intended for at least one recipient; and
said diverter transferring said at least one communication to an intermediary;
wherein said intermediary authenticates said at least one communication by an authenticating process including storing a transcript including at least part of a content of said at least one communication and a time associated with said at least one communication for a storing period complying with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all said at least one sender and all said at least one recipient, and wherein during said storing period said transcript can not be modified by any of said at least one sender nor by any of said at least one recipient.
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31. An apparatus for diverting electro-magnetically propagated communications for authentication, comprising:
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a replacer configured to replace locations of recipients or derivatives thereof with a location of an intermediary;
and a diverter relay configured to transfer electro-magnetically propagated communications for said recipients to said intermediary, in accordance with said replaced location;
wherein said intermediary authenticates said communications by an authenticating process including storing transcripts including at least part of contents of said communications and times associated with said communications for storing periods complying with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all senders and all recipients of corresponding communications, and wherein during said storing periods said transcripts can not be modified by any of said senders nor by any of said recipients. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A system for authenticating electro-magnetically propagated communications, comprising:
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a relay configured to transfer electro-magnetically propagated communications from sender to recipients;
a timestamp module configured to associate times with said communications; and
a storage configured to store transcripts including at least part of contents of said communications and said times associated with said communications, wherein said storage is configured to store each said transcripts for a storing period that complies with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all senders and all recipients of communications corresponding to said each said transcripts; and
wherein said storage is configured to prevent said transcripts from being modified by said senders and said recipients during said storing period. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. A system for authenticating communications, comprising:
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a relay configured to transfer communications from senders to recipients;
a timestamp module configured to associate times with said communications; and
a storage configured to store transcripts including at least part of contents of said communications and said times associated with said communications, wherein said storage is configured to store each said transcript for a storing period that complies with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all senders and all recipients of communications corresponding to said each said transcripts, and wherein said storage is configured to prevent said transcripts from being modified by said senders and said recipients during said storing period. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 69)
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56. A system for authenticating electro-magnetically propagated communications, comprising:
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a relay configured to transfer electro-magnetically propagated communications from senders to recipients;
a timestamp module configured to associate times with said communications; and
a storage configured to store transcripts including at least part of contents of said communications and said times associated with said communications, wherein said storage is configured to store each said transcripts for a storing period that complies with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all senders and all recipients of communications corresponding to said each said transcripts; and
wherein said storage is configured to prevent said transcripts from being modified by said senders and said recipients during said storing period;
said each said transcripts being configured to serve as evidence in the case of a dispute involving at least one party from a group including;
said senders and said recipients of communications corresponding to said each said transcripts.
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57. A system for providing authentication of electro-magnetically propagated communications, comprising:
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a storage configured to store transcripts prepared by a trusted intermediary for electro-magnetically propagated communications between senders and recipients, said transcripts including at least part of contents of said communications and times associated with said communications; and
a customer service configured to receive requests from inquirers for particular communications, to retrieve corresponding transcripts from said storage and to transfer said transcripts to said inquirers, wherein said transferred transcripts are used as evidence in disputes involving at least one party from a group including;
said senders and said recipients;
wherein said storage is configured to store each said transcripts for a storing period that complies with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all senders and all recipients of communications corresponding to said each said transcripts and wherein said storage is configured to prevent said transcripts from being modified by said senders and said recipients during said storing period.
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58. A system for authenticating electro-magnetically propagated communications, comprising:
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at least one source/originator party;
at least one destination/auxiliary party; and
an intermediary;
wherein said intermediary is configured to transfer electro-magnetically propagated communications between said at least one source/originator parties and said at least one destination/auxiliary party and to store transcripts of said transferred communications including at least part of contents of said transferred communications and times associated with said communications, each said transcripts being stored for a period complying with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all at least one source/originator party and all at least one destination/auxiliary party of communications corresponding to said each said transcripts, and wherein said transcripts can not be modified by any of said at least one source/originator party nor by any of said at least one destination/auxiliary party while stored;
said each said transcripts being configured to serve as evidence in the case of a dispute involving at least one party from a group including;
said at least one source/originator party and said at least one destination/auxiliary party of communications corresponding to said each said transcripts.
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68. A system for authenticating communications, comprising:
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at least one source/originator party;
at least one destination/auxiliary party;
an intermediary; and
at least one diverter between said at least one source/originator party and said intermediary, configured to divert communications for said at least one destinations/auxiliary parties from said at least one source/originator party to said intermediary, wherein said intermediary is configured to transfer said communications between said at least one source/originator parties and said at least one destination/auxiliary party and to store transcripts of said transferred communications including at least part of contents of said transferred communications and times associated with said communications, each said transcripts being stored for a period complying with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all at least one source/originator party and all at least one destination/auxiliary party of communications corresponding to said each said transcripts, and said transcripts can not be modified by any of said at least one source/originator party nor by any of said at least one destination/auxiliary party while stored;
said each said transcripts being configured to serve as evidence in the case of a dispute involving at least one party from a group including;
said at least one source/originator party and said at least one destination/auxiliary party of communications corresponding to said each said transcripts.
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70. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for authenticating electro-magnetically propagated communications, comprising the steps of:
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receiving at least one electro-magnetically communication from at least one sender which is intended for at least one recipient;
transferring said at least one communication to said at least one recipient; and
storing a transcript including at least part of a content of said at least one communication and a time associated with said at least one communication;
wherein a period of said storing complies with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all said at least one sender and all said at least one recipient; and
wherein during said period of said storing, said transcript can not be modified by any of said at least one sender nor by any of said at least one recipient.
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71. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for authenticating electro-magnetically propagated communications, the computer program product comprising:
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computer readable program code for causing the computer to receive at least one electro-magnetically communication from at least one sender which is intended for at least one recipient;
computer readable program code for causing the computer to transfer said at least one communication to said at least one recipient; and
computer readable program code for causing the computer to store a transcript including at least part of a content of said at least one communication and a time associated with said at least one communication;
wherein a period of said storing complies with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all said at least one sender and all said at least one recipient; and
wherein during said period of said storing, said transcript can not be modified by any of said at least one sender nor by any of said at least one recipient.
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72. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for authenticating electro-magnetically propagated communications, comprising the steps of:
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receiving at least one electro-magnetically communication from at least one sender which is intended for at least one recipient;
transferring said at least one communication to said at least one recipient; and
storing a transcript including at least part of a content of said at least one communication and a time associated with said at least one communication;
said transcript being configured to serve as evidence in the case of a dispute involving at least one party from a group including;
said at least one sender and said at least one recipient;
wherein a period of said storing complies with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all said at least one sender and all said at least one recipient; and
wherein during said period of said storing, said transcript can not be modified by any of said at least one sender nor by any of said at least one recipient.
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73. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for authenticating electro-magnetically propagated communications, the computer program product comprising:
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computer readable program code for causing the computer to receive at least one electro-magnetically communication from at least one sender which is intended for at least one recipient;
computer readable program code for causing the computer to transfer said at least one communication to said at least one recipient; and
computer readable program code for causing the computer to store a transcript including at least part of a content of said at least one communication and a time associated with said at least one communication;
said transcript being configured to serve as evidence in the case of a dispute including at least one party from a group including;
said at least one sender and said at least one recipient;
wherein a period of said storing complies with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all said at least one sender and all said at least one recipient; and
wherein during said period of said storing, said transcript can not be modified by any of said at least one sender nor by any of said at least one recipient.
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74. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for providing authentication of electro-magnetically propagated communications, comprising the steps of:
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receiving an inquiry from an inquirer about at least one electro-magnetically propagated communication which involved a trusted intermediary;
retrieving a transcript stored by said intermediary, said transcript including at least part of a content of said at least one communication and a time associated with said at least one communication; and
transferring said transcript to said inquirer;
wherein said transferred transcript is used as evidence in a dispute involving at least one party from a group including;
at least one sender and at least one recipient of at least one of said at least one communication;
wherein said stored transcript was stored for a period complying with at least one from the group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all said at least one sender and all said at least one recipient, and wherein during said period of storing, said transcript could not be modified by any of said at least one sender nor by any of said at least one recipient.
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75. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for providing authentication of electro-magnetically propagated communications, the computer program product comprising:
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computer readable program code for causing the computer to receive an inquiry from an inquirer about at least one electro-magnetically propagated communication which involving a trusted intermediary;
computer readable program code for causing the computer to retrieve a transcript stored by said intermediary, said transcript including at least part of a content of said at least one communication and a time associated with said at least one communication; and
computer readable program code for causing the computer to transfer said transcript to said inquirer;
wherein said transferred transcript is used as evidence in a dispute involving at least one party from a group including;
at least one sender and at least one recipient of at least one of said at least one communication;
wherein said stored transcript was stored for a period complying with at least one from the group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all said at least one sender and all said at least one recipient, and wherein during said period of storing, said transcript could not be modified by any of said at least one sender nor by any of said at least one recipient.
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76. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for diverting electro-magnetically propagated communications for authentication, comprising the steps of:
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receiving at least one electro-magnetically propagated communication from at least one sender which is intended for at least one recipient; and
transferring said at least one communication to an intermediary, wherein said intermediary authenticates said at least one communication by an authenticating process including storing a transcript including at least part of a content of said at least one communication and a time associated with said at least one communication for a storing period complying with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all said at least one sender and all said at least one recipient, and wherein during said storing period said transcript can not be modified by any of said at least one sender nor by any of said at least one recipient.
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77. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for diverting electro-magnetically propagated communications for authentication, the computer program product comprising:
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computer readable program code for causing the computer to receive at least one electro-magnetically propagated communication from at least one sender which is intended for at least one recipient; and
computer readable program code for causing the computer to transfer said at least one communication to an intermediary;
wherein said intermediary authenticates said at least one communication by an authenticating process including storing a transcript including at least part of a content of said at least one communication and a time associated with said at least one communication for a storing period complying with at least one from a group including;
permanent storing, storing for as long as required by law, and storing until cessation of storing as agreed upon by all said at least one sender and all said at least one recipient, and wherein during said storing period said transcript can not be modified by any of said at least one sender nor by any of said at least one recipient.
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Specification