Merchandise-Integral Transaction Receipt and Auditable Product Ownership Trail

• US 20070152033A1
• Filed: 03/13/2007
• Published: 07/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Hind, John, Stockton, Marcia
• Granted Patent: US 8,258,924 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/376
• 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 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for writing data directly onto a product to record each ownership transfer. As a result, the product itself now carries a traceable, auditable, non-forgeable, non-repudiable proof of ownership (and, optionally, ownership history) that can be used in a variety of ways. This recorded ownership transfer information provides an electronic receipt, which may be used by the present owner to prove his or her ownership. (Optionally, other types of transfers may be recorded in addition to, or instead of, ownership transfers.) A transfer agent or registrar creates a unique transaction identifier to represent the transfer, and preferably creates a cryptographic signature over fields representing the transfer. This information is then recorded in a repository that is external from the product.

Claims

1. A system for establishing a secure electronic transaction receipt for a product, comprising:

means for accessing a product-integral ownership record to determine a current owner of the product; and

means for securely revising the product-integral ownership record to reflect a new owner of the product, pursuant to a transfer of the product, only upon ensuring that a purported transferor in the transfer is the current owner.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the means for securely revising further comprises:

means for computing a cryptographic signature over data pertaining to the transfer; and

means for recording the cryptographic signature, along with at least a portion of the data pertaining to the transfer, in the product-integral ownership record.

3. The system according to claim 1, further comprising means for logging a record of the transfer in an audit repository.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the record comprises the cryptographic signature and the data pertaining to the transfer.

5. The system according to claim 3, wherein the data pertaining to the transfer includes a globally-unique identifier associated with the transfer.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the globally-unique identifier is used as an index for logging the record and is also recorded in the product-integral ownership record.