Traceable anonymous transactions
First Claim
1. A method of communication between a sender and a recipient with the assistance of at least one trustee, wherein the recipient does not know the identity of the sender, comprising:
- having the sender send to a trustee a digital signature of information identifying the sender and a message encrypted with an encryption key of the recipient;
having a trustee send the recipient the message encrypted with the recipient key and the sender'"'"'s signature encrypted with at least a trustee'"'"'s encryption key; and
under predetermined circumstances, having a least a trustee take action to identify the sender.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Encryption is a common tool to achieve privacy of communication in networks whose lines are not physically protected. In most communication networks, however, having a sender S send an encrypted message to a recipient R does not hide the very fact that S has sent a message to R, and this may in itself constitute valuable information that the parties would rather keep confidential. A transmission method is described that (1) keeps the identities of senders and receivers confidential, but (2) can trace senders and receivers under certain given circumstances.
298 Citations
76 Claims
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1. A method of communication between a sender and a recipient with the assistance of at least one trustee, wherein the recipient does not know the identity of the sender, comprising:
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having the sender send to a trustee a digital signature of information identifying the sender and a message encrypted with an encryption key of the recipient; having a trustee send the recipient the message encrypted with the recipient key and the sender'"'"'s signature encrypted with at least a trustee'"'"'s encryption key; and under predetermined circumstances, having a least a trustee take action to identify the sender. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 40)
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7. An electronic communications method between a sender and a recipient with the assistance of at least first and second trustees, wherein at least one of the sender and recipient does not know the identity of the other party, by:
establishing and maintaining an anonymous communications channel between the sender and the recipient during a communications session in which sender and recipient exchange messages and replies, wherein information is provided to the recipient that is guaranteed to be sufficient to trace the identity of the sender with assistance from at least one trustee and yet does not reveal the sender'"'"'s identity to the recipient without such assistance. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of enabling a sender to provide a message to a recipient with the assistance of at least a first trustee, wherein the recipient does not know the identity of the sender, comprising:
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having the sender and the at least the first trustee participate in a communications protocol by which information is provided to the recipient, wherein the information includes the message and data that is sufficient to trace the identity of the sender yet does not reveal the sender'"'"'s identity to the recipient; and having the recipient take action to determine the message. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of communication between a sender and a recipient with the assistance of at least first and second trustees, wherein the recipient does not know the identity of the sender and each trustee has a key, comprising:
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having the sender send the first trustee a digital signature of a string identifying the sender and a message encrypted with a recipient key and an address of the recipient; having the first trustee send the second trustee an encryption with its own key of the digital signature, the encrypted message and the encrypted recipient'"'"'s address; having the second trustee send the recipient the encrypted message and information that is sufficient to trace the identity of the sender yet does not reveal the sender'"'"'s identity. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A method of communication between a sender and a recipient with the assistance of at least first and second trustees, wherein the recipient does not know the identity of the sender and each trustee has a key, comprising:
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having the sender send the first trustee a digital signature of a string identifying the sender and an encryption, with the second trustee key, of a message intended for the recipient and an address of the recipient; having the first trustee send the second trustee an encryption with its own key of the sender'"'"'s digital signature and the encryption of the message and the recipient'"'"'s address; having the second trustee send the recipient the message and information that is sufficient to trace the identity of the sender yet does not reveal the sender'"'"'s identity. - View Dependent Claims (39)
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41. A method of enabling a sender to provide a message to a recipient and the recipient to provide a reply, with the assistance of at least a first trustee, wherein the recipient does not know the identity of the sender, comprising:
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having the sender and the at least first trustee participate in a communications protocol by which a first transmission label is provided to the first trustee and information is provided to the recipient, wherein the information includes the message and data that is sufficient to trace the identity of the sender yet does not reveal the sender'"'"'s identity to the recipient; and having the recipient take action to reply to the message by which a second transmission label is provided to the first trustee and a reply is provided to the sender; wherein the second transmission label is obtained by applying a given linking function to the first transmission label. - View Dependent Claims (42, 45)
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43. A method of communicating a message between a first party and a second party with the assistance of at least one trustee, comprising:
sending the message from a first party to the second party with the assistance of at least one trustee, wherein the second party does not know the content of the message or the identity of the first party and the trustee contributes action to trace the first party'"'"'s identity under a predetermined circumstance. - View Dependent Claims (44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61)
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62. A method for providing an electronic auction involving an auctioneer and at least first and second bidders, comprising:
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having each of the bidders communicate bidding information to the auctioneer in an anonymous manner with the assistance of at least one trustee, wherein the auctioneer uses the bidding information to conduct the electronic auction; and having the trustee contribute action to trace the identity of at least one of the bidders upon completion of the electronic auction. - View Dependent Claims (63, 64)
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65. A method of communicating between a first party and a second party with the assistance of at least one trustee, wherein the second party does not know the identity of the first party, comprising:
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maintaining an open communications connection between the first and second parties through the at least one trustee during at least the transmission of a message; and having the trustee contribute action to trace the first party'"'"'s identity under a predetermined circumstance. - View Dependent Claims (66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71)
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72. A method of communication between a first party and a second party with the assistance of at least one trustee, comprising:
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establishing an open communication connection between the first party and the second party via the at least one trustee; and having the first and second parties exchange messages and replies forwards and backwards over the open communication connection without revealing the first party'"'"'s identity to the second party unless a predetermined circumstance occurs. - View Dependent Claims (74, 75, 76)
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73. A method of communication between a first party and a second party with the assistance of at least one trustee, comprising:
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establishing an open communication connection between the first party and the second party via the at least one trustee; and having the first and second parties exchange messages and replies forwards and backwards over the open communication connection without proving the first party'"'"'s identity to the second party unless a predetermined circumstance occurs, and wherein the second party does not know a priori the content of the messages of the first party.
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Specification