System and method for certifying content of hard-copy documents
First Claim
1. A method for certifying content of a hard-copy document for dispatch using physical delivery from a sender to a recipient, the method comprising the steps of:
- producing a digital representation of a hard-copy document at a certifying agent;
obtaining a digital signature for the digital representation of the hard-copy document from the certifying agent using an existentially unforgeable signature scheme, the digital signature being a function of the digital representation of the hard-copy document; and
at the certifying agent, the certifying agent providinga physical representation of the digital signature, anda physical representation of the digital representation of the hard-copy document, as proof that the content of the hard-copy document was certified by the certifying agent at dispatch for physical delivery of the hard-copy document from a sender to a recipient.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method are provided for facilitating proof that a specific item, such as a document, has been sent via a communication medium, such as the mail service of the United States Postal Service, at a specific time. A bit map image is produced, such as by scanning a hard copy document. Preferably the bit map is compressed into a data string and hashed. The hash file is signed by a certifying authority, such as the USPS, using an existentially unforgeable signature scheme. The original document, a code representation of the string, and a code representation of the signature are sent via the communication medium. As a result, the combination of materials sent provides proof of the authenticity of the content of the document.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for certifying content of a hard-copy document for dispatch using physical delivery from a sender to a recipient, the method comprising the steps of:
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producing a digital representation of a hard-copy document at a certifying agent; obtaining a digital signature for the digital representation of the hard-copy document from the certifying agent using an existentially unforgeable signature scheme, the digital signature being a function of the digital representation of the hard-copy document; and at the certifying agent, the certifying agent providing a physical representation of the digital signature, and a physical representation of the digital representation of the hard-copy document, as proof that the content of the hard-copy document was certified by the certifying agent at dispatch for physical delivery of the hard-copy document from a sender to a recipient. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for certifying content of a hard-copy document for dispatch using physical delivery from a sender to a recipient, the system comprising:
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means for producing a digital representation of the hard-copy document; means for obtaining a digital signature for the digital representation of the hard-copy document from a certifying agent using an existentially unforgeable signature scheme, the digital signature being a function of the digital representation of the hard-copy document; and means for providing a physical representation of the digital signature and a physical representation of the digital representation of the hard-copy document as proof that the content of the hard-copy document was certified by the certifying agent at dispatch for physical delivery of the hard-copy document from a sender to a recipient. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A computer program product, for use with a processing system, for certifying content of a hard-copy document for dispatch using physical delivery from a sender to a recipient, the computer program product comprising:
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a computer-usable medium; means, provided on the computer usable medium, for directing the processing system to produce a digital representation of the hard-copy document; means, provided on the computer usable medium, for directing the processing system to obtain a digital signature for the digital representation of the hard-copy document from a certifying agent using an existentially unforgeable signature scheme, the digital signature being a function of the digital representation of the hard-copy document; and means, provided on the computer usable medium, for directing the processing system to provide a physical representation of the digital signature and a physical representation of the digital representation of the hard-copy document as proof that the content of the hard-copy document was certified by the certifying agent at dispatch for physical delivery of the hard-copy document from a sender to a recipient. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification