Certification and unique electronic seals for online entities
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- certifying a plurality of online entities;
storing certification data for each of the plurality of online entities in a database; and
selectively generating corresponding media objects for the online entities for which the respective certification data indicates successful certification, wherein each of the media objects includes media to present a unique seal of certification for each of the entities.
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Abstract
The invention provides techniques for issuing electronic seals of certification to online entities, such as online merchants, in a manner that prevents non-certified parties from easily stealing or otherwise misusing the seals. A central seal issuer verifies the credentials, policies or business practices of each merchant and issues a corresponding seal of certification. For each merchant, the seal issuer generates a unique media object representing an electronic seal. The media object includes an encrypted watermark containing an expiration date. The media objects are stored on a seal server such that the merchants can dynamically retrieve and display the electronic seals when accessed by a user. The seal issuer can easily revoke or update the centrally stored seals.
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Citations
91 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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certifying a plurality of online entities; storing certification data for each of the plurality of online entities in a database; and selectively generating corresponding media objects for the online entities for which the respective certification data indicates successful certification, wherein each of the media objects includes media to present a unique seal of certification for each of the entities. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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13. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that cause a programmable processor to:
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store certification data for a plurality of online entities within a database; and generate corresponding media objects for each of the online entities based on the certification data, wherein each of the media objects includes media to present a unique seal of certification for each of the entities. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 57, 58, 59)
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23. A system comprising:
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a database to store certification data for a plurality of online entities; and a server to access the certification data, and generate corresponding media objects for each of the online entities based on the certification data, wherein each of the media objects includes media to present a unique seal of certification for each of the entities. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 60, 61, 62, 66, 67)
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34. A method for providing electronic seals of certification for participants in an online marketplace or other intermediary that is accessed via a computer network and enables participants to buy and sell items comprising:
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certifying participants in the online marketplace; storing information for each of the participants within a database, the information for each participant including certification data that indicates a certification status that participant; and generating corresponding media objects for each of the participants based on the certification data stored in the database, wherein each of the media objects includes media to present a unique seal of certification for each of the participants that indicates the certification status of that participant, and wherein the media objects have a first visual appearance when the certification data indicates that entity is certified, and different visual appearances when the certification data indicates that the certifications have been revoked. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A system comprising:
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a database to store certification data and information for each of a plurality of online entities; and a server to generate corresponding media objects for each the online entities based on the certification data, wherein each of the media objects includes media to present a unique seal for each of the entities, communicate a requested one of the media objects to a web browser for presentment of the respective seal to a user as a portion of a website, and selectively provide the information stored within the database for the entity associated with requested media object to the user via the web browser. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 63, 64, 65, 68, 69)
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70. A method comprising:
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certifying a plurality of online entities; storing certification data for each of the plurality of online entities in a database; accessing the stored certification data to determine current certification status for the online entities; and selectively displaying media objects to present seals of certification for the entities in accordance with the certification data when the current certification status for the online entities is valid. - View Dependent Claims (71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91)
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Specification