Method and system for temporary network identity

• US 6,937,976 B2
• Filed: 07/09/2001
• Issued: 08/30/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Apte, Naresh Anant
• Primary Examiner(s): CANGIALOSI, SALVATORE A
• Application Number:
  US09/901,518
• Publication Number:
  US 20030009593A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,513 Days
• Field of Search: 705/74, 705/75, 713/180, 713/201, 455/403, 455/432.1, 455/446, 455/445
• US Class Current: 705/74
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/383 Anonymous user system
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4015 using location information
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/04 for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data

Abstract

A method for network communications comprises assigning a temporary fictitious identity from a identity intermediary to at least one of a service provider and a user interface and performing a transaction between the user interface and the service provider using the temporary fictitious identity. A network identity intermediary system comprises a controller configured for assigning a temporary identity to at least one of a user interface and a service provider, and a database configured for maintaining private information of the at least one user interface and service provider in association with the temporary fictitious identity.

Claims

1. A method for network communications comprising:

assigning a first temporary fictitious identity from an identity intermediary to a service provider;

performing a transaction between a user interface and the service provider using the first temporary fictitious identity.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein assigning a first temporary fictitious identity further comprises:

generating the first temporary fictitious identity randomly each time that the user interface and the service provider desire to enter a transaction with each other.

3. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:

associating the first temporary identity with the service provider;

providing the service provider as a primary service provider and linking the primary service provider to a secondary service provider, which assists the primary service provider in providing at least one of information, goods, and services to the user interface; and

performing the transaction with the first temporary fictitious identity to conceal the existence of, and real identity of, the secondary service provider from the user interface.

4. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:

associating a second temporary identity with the user interface;

providing the service provider as a primary service provider and linking the primary service provider to a secondary service provider, which assists the primary service provider in providing at least one of information, goods, and services to the user interface; and

performing the transaction with the second temporary fictitious identity to conceal the real identity and private information of the user interface from the secondary service provider.

5. The method of claim 4 and further comprising:

concealing a real identity of a consumer using the user interface with the second temporary fictitious identity by at least one of following techniques;

masking a browser of the user interface with the second temporary fictitious identity;

passing all communications of the user interface through a server of the identity intermediary to assign the second temporary identity and obscure the real identity of the user interface from the service provider; and

assigning the user interface a substitute browser with a pseudonymous name recognizably issued by the identity intermediary.

6. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:

assigning a second temporary fictitious identity from the identity intermediary to the user interface;

performing the transaction between the user interface and the service provider using the first and second temporary fictitious identities of the service provider and the user interface, respectively;

establishing a link to a financial services network to facilitate the identity intermediary performing the transaction as a financial transaction between the user interface and the service provider without revealing real financial information about a consumer using the user interface to the service provider and about the service provider to the user interface.

7. A method of network communications comprising:

contacting an identity intermediary with a service provider to obtain a first temporary network identity for the service provider including;

assigning, via the identity intermediary, the temporary network identity to include at least one of a personal component, a financial component, and a location component; and

associating, via the identity intermediary, the personal component with a real name of a consumer, associating the financial component with at least one of a real credit card number and a bank number, and associating the location component with at least one of a physical street address and an IP address; and

preventing, via the identity intermediary, unauthorized access to a database of the identity intermediary that maintains the personal, financial, and location components; and

contacting an user interface with the first temporary network identity of the service provider to provide services pseudonymously to the user interface.

8. The method of claim 7 and further comprising:

contacting the identity intermediary a second time to obtain a second temporary network identity for the service provider; and

contacting the user interface a second time with the second temporary network identity of the service provider to provide services pseudonymously to the user interface.

9. A method of network communications comprising:

contacting a service provider with a user interface;

prior to conveying personal information to the service provider, contacting an identity intermediary with the user interface to obtain a temporary network identity for the user interface; and

performing a transaction between the user interface and the service provider using the temporary network identity of the user interface to conceal a real identity of a consumer using the user interface.

10. The method of claim 9 and further comprising:

carrying out the transaction by having the identity intermediary use the real identity of the consumer associated with the user interface to arrange delivery of at least one of information and goods/services to the real consumer from the service provider while maintaining the user interface as fictitious identity relative to the service provider.

11. A method of providing pseudonymous network identities comprising:

randomly generating a first temporary fictitious identity for a first service provider; and

maintaining a database of a plurality of temporary fictitious identities, including the first temporary fictitious identity, with each temporary fictitious identity being associated with a uniquely identified service provider, including the first service provider.

12. The method of claim 11 and further comprising:

after a predetermined number of network communications involving the first temporary fictitious identity, replacing the first temporary fictitious identity with a randomly generated second temporary fictitious identity for association with the first service provider.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein replacing the first temporary fictitious identity occurs after a single communication of the first service provider with a user interface using the first fictitious temporary identity.

14. A network identity intermediary comprising:

a network site for communicating with a service provider; and

a database configured for maintaining at least one temporary pseudonymous identity in association with a real identity of the service provider;

wherein the network site is configured for assigning the temporary pseudonymous identity to the service provider upon a request by the service provider.

15. A temporary network identity comprising:

a unique pseudonymous identifier temporarily associated with a service provider; and

an identifier source name associated with the pseudonymous identifier for identifying the source that generated the unique pseudonymous identifier.

16. The temporary network identity of claim 15 wherein the unique pseudonymous identifier has a predetermined lifespan determined by at least one of a time period, a number of network communications between interface and the service provider, and a single interaction between a user interface and the service provider.

17. A network identity intermediary database comprising:

an array of unique pseudonymous identifiers;

an array of real identities of consumers and service providers including at least one of financial information, personal information, and location information, with each one of the real identities being exclusively associated with only one of the unique pseudonymous identifiers.

18. The network database of claim 17 and further comprising:

an encryption mechanism for concealing an association scheme between the unique pseudonymous identifiers and the real identities.

19. A method of network communications comprising:

contacting an identity intermediary with a user interface, after an initial contact between the user interface and a service provider, to obtain a first temporary network identity for the user interface;

contacting the service provider with the first temporary network identity of the user interface to receive services pseudonymously from the service provider; and

charging at least one of the user interface and the service provider a fee for the temporary network identity.

20. A method of pseudonymous network communication comprising:

creating a temporary fictitious identity for each of a service provider and a user interface for pseudonymously performing a transaction between the user interface and the service provider using the temporary fictitious identity; and

obtaining a fee from at least one of the user interface, the service provider and an advertising sponsor for the temporary fictitious identity.

21. A network identity intermediary database comprising:

an array of unique pseudonymous identifiers being configured so that each identifier will be associated exclusively with a real identity of each consumer of a plurality of consumers and each first service provider of a plurality of service providers; and

a subscriber mechanism for assigning the identifiers to the plurality of consumers and the service providers based on a fee-for-service contractual relationship based on at least one of a first arrangement between the consumer and the service provider, a second arrangement between the consumer and an identity intermediary for creating the identifiers, and a third arrangement between the service provider and the identity intermediary.

22. A pseudonymous network identity system comprising:

a network identity intermediary configured for communicating with a user interface and a service provider and configured for assigning a different temporary pseudonymous identity to each of a user interface and a service provider;

a database configured for maintaining at least one different temporary pseudonymous identity in association with a real identity of each of the user interface and the service provider; and

a fee mechanism configured for obtaining payment from the user interface and the service provider in association with maintaining the database and assigning the identities.

23. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of facilitating network communications, the method comprising:

assigning a first temporary fictitious identity from an identity intermediary to a service provider;

performing a transaction between a user interface and the service provider using the first temporary fictitious identity.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 23 wherein the method of facilitating network communications further comprises:

associating the first temporary identity with the service provider;

providing the service provider as a primary service provider and linking the primary service provider to a secondary service provider, which assists the primary service provider in providing at least one of information, goods, and services to the user interface; and

performing the transaction with the first temporary fictitious identity to conceal the existence of, and real identity of, the secondary service provider from the user interface.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 23 wherein the method of facilitating network communications further comprises:

associating a second temporary identity with the user interface;

providing the service provider as a primary service provider and linking the primary service provider to a secondary service provider, which assists the primary service provider in providing at least one of information, goods, and services to the user interface; and

performing the transaction with the second temporary fictitious identity to conceal the real identity and private information of the user interface from the secondary service provider.

26. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of network communications, the method comprising:

contacting an identity intermediary with a service provider to obtain a first temporary network identity for the service provider including;

assigning, via the identity intermediary, the temporary network identity to include at least one of a personal component, a financial component, and a location component; and

associating, via the identity intermediary, the personal component with a real name of a consumer, associating the financial component with at least one of a real credit card number and a bank number, and associating the location component with at least one of a physical street address and an IP address; and

preventing, via the identity intermediary, unauthorized access to a database of the identity intermediary that maintains the personal, financial, and location components; and

contacting an user interface with the first temporary network identity of the service provider to provide services pseudonymously to the user interface.

27. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of network communications, the method comprising:

contacting a service provider with a user interface;

prior to conveying personal information to the service provider, contacting an identity intermediary with the user interface to obtain a temporary network identity for the user interface; and

performing a transaction between the user interface and the service provider using the temporary network identity of the user interface to conceal a real identity of a consumer using the user interface.

28. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of providing pseudonymous network identities, the method comprising:

randomly generating a first temporary fictitious identity for a first service provider; and

maintaining a database of a plurality of temporary fictitious identities, including the first temporary fictitious identity, with each temporary fictitious identity being associated with a uniquely identified service provider, including the first service provider.

29. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of operating a network identity intermediary, the method comprising:

providing a network site for communicating with a service provider; and

maintaining a database in cooperation with the network site for associating at least one temporary pseudonymous identity with a real identity of the service provider; and

assigning the temporary pseudonymous identity to the service provider upon a request at the network site by the service provider.

30. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of providing temporary network identities, the method comprising:

associating a unique pseudonymous identifier temporarily with a service provider; and

associating an identifier source name with the pseudonymous identifier for identifying the source that generated the unique pseudonymous identifier.

31. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of providing a network identity intermediary database, the method comprising:

maintaining an array of unique pseudonymous identifiers;

maintaining an array of real identities of consumers and service providers including at least one of financial information, personal information, and location information, with each one of the real identities being exclusively associated with only one of the unique pseudonymous identifiers.