Distributed information system and protocol for affixing electronic signatures and authenticating documents
First Claim
1. A method to verify authenticity of a document having an electronic signature associated therewith, said document being digitally representable as a file (DF) that is processed with a cryptographic hash function (CHF) to yield a unique digital fingerprint number (DFP) associated with said DF, the method comprising the following steps:
- (a) creating a document identification number (DID) uniquely associated with said DFP, and associating said DID with said DFP;
(b) obtaining and authenticating veracity of credential information (C), and associating said C with said DID and said DFP; and
(c) storing, in at least two locations, registration certificate (DFC) that represents said electronic signature and includes said DID, said DFP, and said C, such that a single entity cannot modify every stored copy of said DFC;
wherein step (c) includes initially promulgating said DFC to at least a minimum number Q of N, where N>
Q, storage locations (WS), and subsequently promulgating said DFP to any remaining (N-Q) said storage locations not initially receiving promulgated said DFC;
wherein authenticating whether a putative document digitally representable as a putative file DF′ and
by a putative registration certificate (DFC′
) associated therewith is an unaltered version of said document represented by said DF and is associated with said electronic signature includes;
comparing a putative digital fingerprint DFP′
for said DF′
obtained using said CHF with at least two retrieved copies of said DFP associated with the DFC stored at step (c);
wherein if said DFP′ and
said DFP are in agreement, said putative document is said document, and said electronic signature has not been altered.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system can process a digital representation (DF) of a document with a one-way cryptographic hash function (CHF) to yield a digital fingerprint (DFP) value that is associated with the DF. A document identification number (DID) is created, uniquely associated with the DFP, and with DID and DFP are associated optional credential information (C). A registration certificate DFC that represents an optional electronic signature associated with the document and that includes the DID and DFP is promulgated and archived at a plurality of storage locations. The system can authenticate whether a putative document is the original document by generating a digital fingerprint value for the putative document and comparing it to DFP retrieved from various of the storage locations. Authentication can confirm that the electronic signature is unaltered.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method to verify authenticity of a document having an electronic signature associated therewith, said document being digitally representable as a file (DF) that is processed with a cryptographic hash function (CHF) to yield a unique digital fingerprint number (DFP) associated with said DF, the method comprising the following steps:
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(a) creating a document identification number (DID) uniquely associated with said DFP, and associating said DID with said DFP;
(b) obtaining and authenticating veracity of credential information (C), and associating said C with said DID and said DFP; and
(c) storing, in at least two locations, registration certificate (DFC) that represents said electronic signature and includes said DID, said DFP, and said C, such that a single entity cannot modify every stored copy of said DFC;
wherein step (c) includes initially promulgating said DFC to at least a minimum number Q of N, where N>
Q, storage locations (WS), and subsequently promulgating said DFP to any remaining (N-Q) said storage locations not initially receiving promulgated said DFC;
wherein authenticating whether a putative document digitally representable as a putative file DF′ and
by a putative registration certificate (DFC′
) associated therewith is an unaltered version of said document represented by said DF and is associated with said electronic signature includes;
comparing a putative digital fingerprint DFP′
for said DF′
obtained using said CHF with at least two retrieved copies of said DFP associated with the DFC stored at step (c);
wherein if said DFP′ and
said DFP are in agreement, said putative document is said document, and said electronic signature has not been altered. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method to verify authenticity of a document having an electronic signature associated therewith, said document being digitally representable as a file (DF) that is processed with a cryptographic hash function (CHF) to yield a unique digital fingerprint number (DFP) associated with said DF, the method comprising the following steps:
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(a) creating a document identification number (DID) uniquely associated with said DFP, and associating said DID with said DFP;
(b) obtaining and authenticating veracity of credential information (C), and associating said C with said DID and said DFP;
(c) creating a signature declaration (SD) that captures expressed intent of a user-registrant to create and associate said electronic signature with said document represented by said DF;
(d) creating a testimonial record (T) that includes at least said DID, said DFP, said C, and said SD, and creating from and associating with said T a unique digital fingerprint number (DFPT), said DFPT obtainable from a cryptographic hash function (CHFT); and
(e) storing, in at least two locations, registration certificate (DFCT) that represents said electronic signature and includes said DID, said DFP, said DFPT, and said C, such that a single entity cannot modify every stored copy of said DFCT;
wherein wherein step (e) includes initially promulgating said DFC to at least a minimum number Q of N, where N>
Q, storage locations (WS), and subsequently promulgating said DFP to any remaining (N-Q) said storage locations not initially receiving promulgated said DFC;
wherein authenticating whether a putative document, digitally representable as a putative file DE′ and
associated with a putative registration certificate (DFCT′
) and associated with a putative testimonial record (T′
), is an unaltered version of said document represented by said DF and is associated with said electronic signature includes;
comparing a putative digital fingerprint DFP′
for said DF′
obtained using said CHF with at least two retrieved copies of said DFP associated with the DFCT stored at step (e), andcomparing a putative digital fingerprint DFPT′
for said T′
obtained using said CHFT with at least two copies of said DFPT associated with the DFCT stored at step (e);
wherein if said DFP′ and
said DFP are in agreement, said putative document is said document, and if said DFPT′ and
said DFPT are in agreement, said electronic signature has not been altered. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method to verify authenticity of a document optionally having an electronic signature associated therewith, said document being digitally representable as a file (DF) processable with a cryptographic hash function (CHF) to yield a unique digital fingerprint number (DFP) associated with said DF, where (i) a document identification number (DID) uniquely associated with said DFP has been created and associated with said DFP;
- where (ii) credential information (C) has bean obtained, its veracity confirmed, and said C associated with said DID and said DFP; and
(iii) where there has been stored in at least two locations registration certificate (DFC) representing said electronic signature and including said DID, said DFP, and said C, such that a single entity cannot modify every stored copy of said DFC wherein said DFC has been promulgated to at least a minimum number Q of N, where N>
Q, storage locations (WS), and has subsequently been promulgated to any remaining (N-Q) said storage locations not initially receiving promulgated said DFC;
the method comprising the following steps;(a) for a putative document, obtaining a digital representation thereof as a putative file DF′ and
obtaining a putative registration certificate (DFC′
) associated therewith;
(b) obtaining and comparing a putative digital fingerprint DFP′
for said DF′
obtained using said CHF with at least two retrieved copies of said DFP associated with said DFC;
wherein said putative document is an unaltered version of said document represented by said DF and is associated with said electronic signature; and
includes;
if said DFP′ and
said DFP are in agreement, said putative document is said document, and said electronic signature has not been altered.
- where (ii) credential information (C) has bean obtained, its veracity confirmed, and said C associated with said DID and said DFP; and
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30. A system to verify authenticity of a document representable digitally, the system comprising:
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a nexus-server having a CPU end memory and including means for quasi-randomly generating ID numbers, issuing customer ID numbers, issuing document ID numbers (DID), and issuing coupons bearing at least one of (i) CID, and (ii) DID;
at least two clusters of witness-server computer systems (WS), each having a CPU and memory, each of said witness-servers being operatively coupleable to each other and to said nexus-server for intercommunication therebetween;
wherein said nexus-server supervises adherence of said WS in a cluster to rules and protocols applicable to said cluster;
wherein one WS of said cluster, upon presentation by a user of said coupon and a digital fingerprint number (DFP) for said document obtained from a one-way cryptographic hash function (CHF), promulgates said coupon information and said DFP to a number of other witness-server computer systems in said cluster, wherein said number of other witness-server computer systems is at least two and is commensurate with the value of the coupon, and upon confirming receipt of said coupon information and said DFP, said witness-server computer system converting said coupon into a registration certificate containing at least said coupon information and said DFP, said registration certificate is returned to said user;
said system upon user-presentation of said registration certificate retrieving from at least some of said witness-server computer systems in said cluster a digital fingerprint number;
wherein comparison of the retrieved said digital fingerprint numbers against a digital fingerprint number newly generated for said document permits confirming said document has was not altered after presentation to said system.
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31. A computer-readable medium storing computer-readable software that when executed by a computer system that includes a CPU carries out at least three of the following steps to verify authenticity of a document having an electronic signature associated therewith, the document being digitally representable as a file (DF) that is processed with a cryptographic hash function (CHF) to yield a unique digital fingerprint number (DFP) associated with said DF;
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(a) obtaining and authenticating veracity of credential information (C), and associating said C with said DID and said DFP;
(b) creating a signature declaration (SD) capturing expressed intent of a user-registrant to create and associate said electronic signature with said document;
(c) promulgating for storage, in at least two locations, registration certificate (DFC) that represents said electronic signature and includes said DID, said DFP, said C, and at east one of (i) said SD, and (ii) a digital fingerprint of said SD, such that a single entity cannot modify every stored copy of said DFC;
wherein step (c) includes initially promulgating said DFC to at least a minimum number Q of N, where N>
Q, storage locations (WS), and subsequently promulgating said DFP to any remaining (N-Q) said storage locations not initially receiving promulgated said DFC;
wherein authenticating whether a putative document digitally representable as a putative file DF′ and
by a putative registration certificate (DFC′
) associated therewith is an unaltered version of said document represented by said DF and is associated with said electronic signature includes;
(d) comparing a putative digital fingerprint DFP′
for said DF′
obtained using said CHF with at least two retrieved copies of said DFP associated with the DFC stored at step (c);
wherein if said DFP′ and
said DFP are in agreement, said putative document is said document, and said electronic signature has not been altered.
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Specification