Digital receipt for a transaction

• US 20020161721A1
• Filed: 07/17/2001
• Published: 10/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VeriSign, Inc.
• Original Assignee: VeriSign, Inc.
• Inventors: Whitehead, Gregory R., Pratt, Robert W., Tulshibagwale, Atul, Simon, Stan J., Yuan, Xinhong
• Granted Patent: US 7,694,332 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/65
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/047 using payment protocols involving electronic receipts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3829 involving key management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/389 Keeping log of transactions for guaranteeing non-repudiation of a transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/12 Card verification

Abstract

A first user (110) requests a service provider (130) to create (200,400) a record of a transaction. The service provider (130) creates (230,430) a digital receipt (300,700,900), which includes a description (310,710,720,910,1020) of the transaction understandable by humans, tamper-proof evidence (320) of the transaction, and a verification prompt (330,740,940,1030). A second user (120) who desires to verify the transaction displays (265,465) the digital receipt (300,700,900) and activates (270,470) the verification prompt (330,740,940,1030). Upon activation, the tamper-proof evidence (320) is verified without requiring further human interaction to identify the tamper-proof evidence.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium for serving as a record of an occurrence of a transaction, the computer readable medium storing:

a digital receipt of the transaction suitable for display to humans, the digital receipt comprising;

a description of the transaction in a format understandable by humans;

tamper-proof evidence of the occurrence of the transaction; and

a verification prompt for verifying the tamper-proof evidence without requiring further human interaction to identify the tamper-proof evidence.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein, upon display of the digital receipt, the description of the transaction and the verification prompt are displayed but the tamper-proof evidence is not displayed.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the tamper-proof evidence comprises a fingerprint of the transaction.

4. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the tamper-proof evidence comprises a digital signature.

5. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the tamper-proof evidence comprises a time stamp for the transaction.

6. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

and

the tamper-proof evidence comprises a digitally signed time stamp token comprising;

a fingerprint of the document; and

a time stamp for the document.

7. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the tamper-proof evidence is included by reference in the digital receipt.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the digital receipt is in a standard markup language.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 8 wherein the tamper-proof evidence is encoded as hidden text.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 9 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time; and

the tamper-proof evidence comprises a digitally signed time stamp token comprising;

a fingerprint of the document; and

a time stamp for the document.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 9 wherein:

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language;

the tamper-proof evidence is encoded as hidden text in the form; and

the verification prompt comprises a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text to a service provider for verification.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 9 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language;

the description of the transaction comprises;

a name identifying the document, and

a time identifying the specific time;

the tamper-proof evidence comprises a digitally signed time stamp token encoded as hidden text in the form, the time stamp token comprising;

a fingerprint of the document, and

a time stamp for the document; and

the verification prompt comprises a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text to a service provider for verification.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 9 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language, the form including the document encoded as hidden text;

the description of the transaction comprises;

a name identifying the document, and

a time identifying the specific time;

the tamper-proof evidence comprises a digitally signed time stamp token encoded as hidden text in the form, the time stamp token comprising;

a fingerprint of the document, and

a time stamp for the document; and

the verification prompt comprises a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text of the tamper-proof evidence and the hidden text of the document to a service provider for verification.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

the digital receipt further comprises the document; and

the verification prompt is further for verifying the document without requiring further human interaction to identify the document.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 14 wherein:

the digital receipt is in a standard markup language;

the document is encoded as hidden text; and

upon display of the digital receipt, a script decodes and displays the document.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15 wherein

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language;

the tamper-proof evidence is encoded as hidden text in the form;

the document is encoded as hidden text in the form; and

the verification prompt comprises a user-activated element in the form;

wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text of the tamper-proof evidence and the hidden text of the document to a service provider for verification.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 14 wherein the document is included by reference in the digita receipt.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein, upon display of the digital receipt, the description of the transaction and the verification prompt are displayed but the tamper-proof evidence is not displayed.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

and

the tamper-proof evidence comprises a digitally signed time stamp token comprising;

a fingerprint of the document; and

a time stamp for the document.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein the tamper-proof evidence is included by reference in the digital receipt.

22. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of generating tamper-proof evidence of the occurrence of the transaction comprises:

receiving the tamper-proof evidence from a third party.

23. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of creating a digital receipt comprises creating the digital receipt in a standard markup language.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the step of creating the digital receipt further comprises encoding the tamper-proof evidence as hidden text in the digital receipt.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time; and

the tamper-proof evidence comprises a digitally signed time stamp token comprising;

a fingerprint of the document; and

a time stamp for the document.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein:

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language; and

the step of creating the digital receipt further comprises;

encoding the tamper-proof evidence as hidden text in the form; and

implementing the verification prompt as a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text to a service provider for verification.

27. The method of claim 24 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language; and

the step of creating the digital receipt comprises;

including a name identifying the document and a time identifying the specific time as part of the description of the transaction;

encoding a digitally signed time stamp token as hidden text in the form, the time stamp token comprising a fingerprint of the document and a time stamp for the document; and

implementing the verification prompt as a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text to a service provider for verification.

28. The method of claim 24 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language; and

the step of creating the digital receipt comprises;

including a name identifying the document and a time identifying the specific time as part of the description of the transaction;

encoding the document as hidden text in the form;

encoding a digitally signed time stamp token as hidden text in the form, the time stamp token comprising a fingerprint of the document and a time stamp for the document; and

implementing the verification prompt as a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text of the the document and the hidden text of the time stamp token to a service provider for verification.

29. The method of claim 18 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

the digital receipt further comprises the document; and

the verification prompt is further for verifying the document without requiring further human interaction to identify the document.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein:

the step of creating a digital receipt comprises;

creating the digital receipt in a standard markup language;

encoding the document as hidden text in the digital receipt; and

including a script in the digital receipt; and

upon display of the digital receipt, the script decodes and displays the document.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein:

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language; and

the step of creating a digital receipt comprises;

encoding the tamper-proof evidence as hidden text in the form;

encoding the document as hidden text in the form; and

implementing the verification prompt as a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text of the tamper-proof evidence and the hidden text of the document to a service provider for verification.

32. The method of claim 29 wherein the document is included by reference in the digital receipt.

33. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

transmitting the digital receipt to the requesting user.

35. The apparatus of claim 34 wherein:

the digital receipt is in a standard markup language; and

the tamper-proof evidence is encoded as hidden text.

36. The apparatus of claim 35 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language;

the description of the transaction comprises;

a name identifying the document, and

a time identifying the specific time;

the tamper-proof evidence comprises a digitally signed time stamp token encoded as hidden text in the form, the time stamp token comprising;

a fingerprint of the document, and

a time stamp for the document; and

the verification prompt comprises a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text to a service provider for verification.

37. The apparatus of claim 35 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language, the form including the document encoded as hidden text;

the description of the transaction comprises;

a name identifying the document, and

a time identifying the specific time;

the tamper-proof evidence comprises a digitally signed time stamp token encoded as hidden text in the form, the time stamp token comprising;

a fingerprint of the document, and

a time stamp for the document; and

the verification prompt comprises a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text of the tamper-proof evidence and the hidden text of the document to a service provider for verification.

38. The apparatus of claim 34 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

the digital receipt further comprises the document; and

the verification prompt is further for verifying the document without requiring further human interaction to identify the document.

39. The apparatus of claim 38 wherein:

the digital receipt is in a standard markup language;

the document is encoded as hidden text; and

upon display of the digital receipt, a script decodes and displays the document.

40. The apparatus of claim 39 wherein:

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language; and

the tamper-proof evidence is encoded as hidden text in the form;

the document is encoded as hidden text in the form; and

the verification prompt comprises a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text of the tamper-proof evidence and the hidden text of the document to a service provider for verification.

18. A method for creating a record of an occurrence of a transaction, comprising:

receiving a request from a requesting user to create a digital receipt of the transaction;

generating tamper-proof evidence of the occurrence of the transaction; and

creating a digital receipt of the transaction suitable for display to humans, the digital receipt comprising;

a description of the transaction in a format understandable by humans;

the tamper-proof evidence of the occurrence of the transaction; and

a verification prompt for verifying the tamper-proof evidence without requiring further human interaction to identify the tamper-proof evidence.

34. An apparatus for creating a record of an occurrence of a transaction, said apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a request to create a digital receipt of the transaction;

means for generating tamper-proof evidence of the occurrence of the transaction; and

means for creating a digital receipt of the transaction suitable for display to humans, the digital receipt comprising;

a description of the transaction in a format understandable by humans;

the tamper-proof evidence of the occurrence of the transaction; and

a verification prompt for verifying the tamper-proof evidence without requiring further human interaction to identify the tamper-proof evidence.

41. A software program product for creating a record of an occurrence of a transaction, the software program product controlling the operation of a processor by execution of the software by the processor, the software executing the steps of:

receiving a request to create a digital receipt of a transaction;

generating tamper-proof evidence of the occurrence of the transaction; and

creating a digital receipt of the transaction suitable for display to humans, the digital receipt comprising;

a description of the transaction in a format understandable by humans;

the tamper-proof evidence of the occurrence of the transaction; and

a verification prompt for verifying the tamper-proof evidence without requiring further human interaction to identify the tamper-proof evidence.

42. The software program product of claim 41 wherein:

the digital receipt is in a standard markup language; and

the step of creating a digital receipt comprises;

encoding the tamper-proof evidence as hidden text in the digital receipt.

43. The software program product of claim 42 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language;

the step of creating the digital receipt comprises;

including a name identifying the document and a time identifying the specific time as part of the description of the transaction; and

encoding a digitally signed time stamp token as hidden text in the form, the time stamp token comprising a fingerprint of the document and a time stamp for the document; and

the verification prompt is implemented as a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text to a service provider for verification.

44. The software program product of claim 42 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language; and

the step of creating the digital receipt comprises;

including a name identifying the document and a time identifying the specific time as part of the description of the transaction;

encoding the document as hidden text in the form; and

encoding a digitally signed time stamp token as hidden text in the form, the time stamp token comprising a fingerprint of the document and a time stamp for the document; and

the verification prompt is implemented as a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text of the the document and the hidden text of the time stamp token to a service provider for verification.

45. The software program product of claim 41 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

the digital receipt further comprises the document; and

the verification prompt is further for verifying the document without requiring further human interaction to identify the document.

46. The software program product of claim 45 wherein:

the digital receipt is in a standard markup language and further includes a script;

the step of creating a digital receipt comprises;

encoding the document as hidden text in the digital receipt wherein, upon display of the digital receipt, the script decodes the hidden text and displays the document.

47. The software program product of claim 46 wherein:

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language; and

the step of creating a digital receipt comprises;

encoding the tamper-proof evidence as hidden text in the form; and

encoding the document as hidden text in the form; and

the verification prompt is implemented as a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text of the tamper-proof evidence and the hidden text of the document to a service provider for verification.

49. The method of claim 48 wherein the step of displaying the digital receipt comprises:

displaying the description of the transaction and the verification prompt; and

not displaying the tamper-proof evidence.

50. The method of claim 48 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time; and

the tamper-proof evidence comprises a digitally signed time stamp token comprising;

a fingerprint of the document; and

a time stamp for the document.

51. The method of claim 48 wherein:

the digital receipt is in a standard markup language; and

the tamper-proof evidence is encoded as hidden text.

52. The method of claim 51 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time; and

the tamper-proof evidence comprises a digitally signed time stamp token comprising;

a fingerprint of the document; and

a time stamp for the document.

53. The method of claim 51 wherein:

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language;

the tamper-proof evidence is encoded as hidden text in the form; and

the verification prompt comprises a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text to a service provider for verification.

54. The method of claim 48 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

the digital receipt further comprises the document; and

whereby, upon activation of the verification prompt, the document is verified without requiring further human interaction to identify the document.

55. The method of claim 54 wherein:

the digital receipt is in a standard markup language and further includes a script;

the document is encoded as hidden text in the digital receipt; and

the step of displaying the digital receipt comprises;

upon display of the digital receipt, executing the script to decode the hidden text and display the document.

56. The method of claim 55 wherein

the digital receipt includes a form in the standard markup language;

the tamper-proof evidence is encoded as hidden text in the form;

the document is encoded as hidden text in the form; and

the verification prompt comprises a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text of the tamper-proof evidence and the hidden text of the document to a service provider for verification.

57. The method of claim 48 further comprising:

receiving verification of the tamper-proof evidence; and

upon receipt of verification of the tamper-proof evidence, displaying a second verification prompt for verifying the transaction.

58. The method of claim 57 wherein:

the transaction is an existence of a document at a specific time;

the digital receipt is in a standard markup language;

the step of displaying the digital receipt comprises;

displaying the digital receipt as a form;

displaying a name identifying the document and a time identifying the specific time;

not displaying a digitally signed time stamp token encoded as hidden text in the form, the time stamp token comprising a fingerprint of the document and a time stamp for the document; and

displaying the verification prompt as a user-activated element in the form, wherein activation of the user-activated element transmits the hidden text to a service provider for verification;

the step of receiving verification of the tamper-proof evidence comprises receiving verification from the service provider as to whether the fingerprint and time stamp in the hidden text transmitted to the service provider match an independently maintained record of the transaction; and

the step of displaying a second verification prompt comprises displaying a prompt to verify whether the fingerprint in the hidden text matches a fingerprint of a second document alleged to be identical to the document in existence at the specific time.

48. A method for verifying the past occurrence of a transaction, said method comprising:

displaying a digital receipt of the transaction, the digital receipt comprising;

a description of the transaction in a format understandable by humans;

tamper-proof evidence of the occurrence of the transaction; and

a verification prompt; and

activating the verification prompt, whereby the tamper-proof evidence is verified without requiring further human interaction to identify the tamper-proof evidence.