Third party privacy system
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method of providing privacy through anonymity is described. As one aspect of the invention, a person registers at a privacy server and is given a pseudo identity that can be used to browse, register, purchase, pay for, and take delivery of products and services. Transactions are completed with the privacy server on a need-to-know basis. A seller communicates with the privacy server but only sees a demand, not the identity of the buyer. The financial institution communicates with the privacy server and sees the payment, not the merchandise. The freight company communicates with the privacy server and sees the package, not its contents. The privacy server operates in a manner that assures privacy and anonymity for the buyer and, if necessary, both the seller as well.
127 Citations
33 Claims
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1-5. -5. (Canceled).
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6. A method comprising:
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determining that a first user of an electronic network has a limited capacity;
establishing for the first user a pseudo identity that can be utilized by the first user to interact through the network with a second user of the network, including configuring the pseudo identity to be free of information that would permit the first user to effect a payment to the second user under the pseudo identity; and
withholding from the second user information that would permit the second user to determine an actual identity of the first user. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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- 13. An apparatus comprising an electronic system having a portion that determines that a first user of an electronic network has a limited capacity, and that establishes for the first user a pseudo identity which can be utilized by the first user to interact through the network with a second user of the network, the pseudo identity being free of information that would permit the first user to effect a payment to the second user under the pseudo identity, and the system withholding from the second user information that would permit the second user to determine an actual identity of the first user.
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18. A method comprising:
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determining that a first user of an electronic network has a limited capacity;
establishing for the first user a pseudo identity that can be utilized by the first user to interact through the network with a second user of the network;
withholding from the second user information that would permit the second user to determine an actual identity of the first user; and
responding to a predefined condition by providing the second user with notification that the first user has a limited capacity, without revealing the actual identity of the first user to the second user. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An apparatus comprising an electronic system that includes:
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a first portion which determines that a first user of an electronic network has a limited capacity, and that establishes for the first user a pseudo identity which can be utilized by the first user to interact through the network with a second user of the network; and
a second portion that responds to a predefined condition by providing the second user with notification that the first user has a limited capacity, the first and second portions withholding from the second user information that would permit the second user to determine an actual identity of the first user. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification