Virtual Property System for Globally-Significant Objects

• US 20080282090A1
• Filed: 05/07/2007
• Published: 11/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Jonathan Leybovich
• Original Assignee: Jonathan Leybovich
• Inventors: Leybovich, Jonathan
• Application Number:
  US11/745,227
• Publication Number:
  US 20080282090A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/182
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/76 Proxy, i.e. using intermediary entity to perform cryptographic operations network architectures or network communication protocols using hop-by-hop encryption H04L63/0464
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/006 involving public key infrastructure [PKI] trust models network architecture or network communication protocol for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3073 involving pairings, e.g. identity based encryption [IBE], bilinear mappings or bilinear pairings, e.g. Weil or Tate pairing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures

Abstract

Virtual property system for globally-significant objects across autonomous computing environments. Objects with global persistence and identity are instantiated by a plurality of their real-world claim-holders through authentication of a computer-readable object specification and owner identity. Owner may then claim benefit of the object across autonomous computing environments such as virtual worlds by authenticating his identity. Ownership transfer is accomplished through the current owner authenticating an ownership transfer document. When used in conjunction with the owner-proxy method, object transfer may occur without the distribution of ownership revocation lists.

Claims

26. A method of transferring ownership of an instantiated virtual object, said object having an ownership document, from a transferring owner to a new owner comprising the steps of:

the transferring owner generating an object transfer authenticator identifying a new party as the new owner; and

associating the object transfer authenticator with the ownership document.

27. The ownership transfer method of claim 26 wherein the object transfer authenticator comprises an authenticated, machine-readable document specifying the object, the identity of the new owner, and its role as new object owner.

28. The ownership document transfer method of claim 27 wherein document authentication occurs through applying a digital signature to the ownership transfer document using cryptographic keys, producing a machine-readable signature certificate.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein cryptographic keys are used to digitally sign the ownership transfer document and the cryptographic keys are managed within a public key infrastructure.

30. The method of claim 26 wherein authenticator generation occurs through receiving an electronic signal from the transferring owner.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the signal is received over a secured communication channel.

32. The method of claim 30 wherein the signal is generated by an access point on a network-connected machine.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein the access point is a service on a computer server.

34. The ownership document transfer method of claim 27 wherein the machine-readable object transfer document contains at least one transactional data chosen from the group consisting of date of transfer, transfer sequence number, date of expiration, or object non-transferability flag.

35. The method of claim 26 wherein transfer of a virtual object is concomitant with transfer of the object'"'"'s real-world counterpart.

36. The method of claim 26 wherein transfer of a virtual object is independent of transfer of its real-world counterpart.

37. The method of claim 26 wherein transfer of a virtual object is embedded in a larger transaction or process.

38. The method claim 26 wherein the object transfer authenticator is duration-limited.

39. An owner proxy method of transferring ownership of at least one virtual instantiated object having an ownership document comprising the steps of:

an owner-proxy party acquiring at least one virtual object, either during object instantiation of the at least one virtual object or through transfer from a previous owner party to the owner-proxy, the at least one virtual object having an object specification, and a complete authenticated object transfer chain of object transfers said transfer chain having an ultimate transferee, wherein the owner-proxy is identified as the ultimate transferee;

the owner-proxy associating the at least one virtual object with an actual owner party;

the owner-proxy generating a duration-limited object claim authenticator from the owner-proxy to the actual owner, which is the last issued claim authenticator;

the actual owner presenting the duration-limited object claim authenticator to a receiving entity from which the actual owner wishes to claim benefit of the object;

the receiving entity validating the object specification, the complete authenticated transfer chain of object transfers, the object claim authenticator, and the identity of the actual owner, wherein the actual owner must be the last owner according to the authenticated object transfer chain;

the actual owner party transferring the object to a new actual owner party by signaling the owner-proxy to the identity of the new actual owner;

the owner-proxy validating the object transfer signal by the owner-proxy, including authenticating the identity of the actual owner and verifying that no previous transfer requests are pending; and

the owner-proxy associating the object claim authenticator with the new actual owner party effective upon the expiration of the last issued claim authenticator.

40. The owner-proxy method of claim 39, wherein the at least one virtual object has at least one owner-proxy party, the at least one owner proxy party being an object claim-holder from the instantiation of the virtual object, and wherein the at least one owner proxy party individually generates the claim authenticator.

41. The owner-proxy method of claim 39 where the object claim authenticator is a machine-readable document authenticated by the owner-proxy specifying the object and the identity of the object'"'"'s actual owner.

42. The owner-proxy method of claim 41 wherein a digital signature is used for document authentication.

43. The method of claim 39 wherein generation of the object claims authenticator occurs through receiving a signal from the owner-proxy.

46. The owner-proxy method of claim 42 wherein keys used for digital signature are managed within a public key infrastructure.

47. The owner-proxy method of claim 39 wherein the object claim authenticator is a private-key counterpart to the current owner'"'"'s identity encoded in an identity-based encryption scheme.

48. The owner-proxy method of claim 39 wherein authentication of the object transfer signal occurs through its receipt over a secure communication channel.

49. The owner-proxy method of claim 39 wherein the authentication of an object transfer signal occurs through digital signature of the object transfer signal by the current actual owner.

50. The owner-proxy method of claim 41 wherein the machine-readable object claim document contains at least one transactional data chosen from the group consisting of generation, sequence number, and object non-transferability flag.

51. The owner-proxy method of claim 39 wherein at least one object is transferred from a current owner-proxy to a new owner-proxy by the authentication by the current owner-proxy of object transfer from it to the new owner-proxy and the assumption of actual owner associations and actual owner authentication by the new owner-proxy.

52. The owner-proxy method of claim 51 wherein authentication of transfer from the current owner-proxy to the new owner-proxy is duration-limited.

53. The owner-proxy method of claim 39 wherein object transfer between actual owners is embedded in a larger transaction or process.

54. The owner-proxy method of claim 39 wherein transfer between actual owners is duration-limited.

55. The owner-proxy method of claim 39 wherein transfer of the virtual object between actual owners is concomitant with transfer of the object'"'"'s real-world counterpart.

56. The owner-proxy method of claim 39 wherein transfer of the virtual object between actual owners is independent of the transfer of the object'"'"'s real-world counterpart.

57. The owner-proxy method of claim 46 wherein the trusted communications channel is a system requiring user login.

44-1. The method of claim 44 wherein the signal is generated by an access point on a network-connected machine.