Digital signatures for network forms

• US 20070005978A1
• Filed: 06/29/2005
• Published: 01/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Deobhakta, Kalpita, Ifrim, Silviu, O'Connor, Brian
• Granted Patent: US 8,200,975 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/176
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/68 Special signature format, e.g. XML format
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures

Abstract

Systems and/or methods enabling an individual to digitally sign data using an identifier where the data being digitally signed and the identifier are not accessed at the same location are described. In some cases, the systems and/or methods permit an individual to digitally sign data for an electronic document using an identifier inaccessible by a remote computer where the electronic document is rendered using view information from that remote computer. The systems and/or methods may also enable a network computer to send view information for, and a digital encoding of, an electronic document to a local computer effective to enable the local computer to digitally sign the electronic document by signing the digital encoding of electronic document.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media having computer-readable instructions therein that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform acts comprising:

receiving, at a local computer local to an individual, a selection from the individual to sign selected data rendered at the local computer in a view of an electronic document, the view of the electronic document being rendered using view information received from a remote computer; and

digitally signing, at the local computer, the selected data using an identifier identifying the individual, the identifier being inaccessible by the remote computer.

2. The computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the act of digitally signing the selected data comprises signing an encoding of the selected data.

3. The computer-readable media of claim 2, wherein the encoding of the selected data is received from the remote computer.

4. The computer-readable media of claim 2, wherein the selected data is inaccessible by the local computer.

5. The computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the local computer renders the view information through a network browser.

6. The computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the act of digitally signing the selected data permits the selected data to be repurposed without breaking the digital signature.

7. One or more computer-readable media having computer-readable instructions therein that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform acts comprising:

receiving, from an individual, a selection to sign data of an electronic document;

receiving, from a remote source, an encoding of the data; and

digitally signing the encoding.

8. The computer-readable media of claim 7, wherein the act of receiving the selection, receiving the encoding, and digitally signing are performed at a computer local to the individual and remote from the remote source.

9. The computer-readable media of claim 7, wherein the act of receiving the selection comprises receiving the selection of a portion of the data of the electronic document and wherein the encoding is of the portion of the data.

10. The computer-readable media of claim 7, wherein the act of digitally signing comprises signing the encoding using an identifier capable of identifying the individual.

11. The computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the identifier comprises a unique private key of a private key infrastructure.

12. The computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the identifier is not accessible by the remote source.

13. The computer-readable media of claim 7, further comprising sending the digitally signed encoding to the remote source.

14. One or more computer-readable media having computer-readable instructions therein that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform acts comprising:

sending view information for an electronic document to a local computer, the view information being usable by the local computer to render a view of the electronic document'"'"'s data;

sending a digital encoding of the electronic document'"'"'s data to the local computer;

receiving, from the local computer, a digital signature of the digital encoding; and

associating the digital signature with the electronic document'"'"'s data.

15. The computer-readable media of claim 14, wherein the electronic document'"'"'s data comprises structured data, and further comprising building the view information by transforming the structured data, the view information enabling a network browser to render the structured data.

16. The computer-readable media of claim 14, wherein the digital signature of the digital encoding is signed at the local computer using an identifier, the identifier capable of identifying an individual.

17. The computer-readable media of claim 14, further comprising building a digitally signed document, the digitally signed document comprising the digital signature of the digital encoding and an indicator of the electronic document'"'"'s data to which the digital encoding relates.

18. The computer-readable media of claim 17, further comprising receiving a static image of the electronic document'"'"'s data and contextual information associated with the static image, and wherein the act of building the digitally signed document comprises building the digitally signed document comprising the static image and the contextual information.

19. The computer-readable media of claim 14, wherein the act of associating the digital signature with the electronic document'"'"'s data permits the electronic document'"'"'s data to be repurposed without breaking the digital encoding.

20. The computer-readable media of claim 14, further comprising building the digital encoding having a strong cryptographic hash of the electronic document'"'"'s data.