Method, system and computer program product for protection of identity information in electronic transactions using attribute certificates
First Claim
1. A method of conducting an electronic commerce transaction, comprising the steps of:
- creating an attribute certificate for each prospective participant to said transaction, wherein each of said attribute certificates contains only transaction information, said transaction information comprising one or more transaction elements;
submitting each of said attribute certificates to a third party;
validating each of said attribute certificates by said third party, said validation step comprising at least the steps of;
checking the accuracy of each transaction element; and
deleting from said attribute certificate those transaction elements that are inaccurate; and
making all validated attribute certificates available to each prospective participant to said transaction.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Parties involved in a particular transaction in an E-marketplace each identify and submit to the E-marketplace relevant characteristics related to that transaction. The identification of the party is not revealed with this submission. To achieve this, an attribute certificate is created which contains attributes related to a buyer or seller'"'"'s potential participation in a transaction. The attributes that are selected pertain to specifics of the transaction and not to the certificate holder. Each of the attributes are verified by a trusted authority (e.g., the E-marketplace acting as an intermediary for the transaction) so that when the attribute certificate is supplied to a party, the party is assured that the information it contains is accurate. In this manner, parties to a negotiation in a particular transaction are able to know immediately and with a high level of assurance that certain critical elements to the proposed transaction are met (or are capable of being met). This information is made available to all who wish to participate in the bidding/negotiating process (as opposed to being available only when specifically authorized by the certificate owner) but without the need to identify the certificate owner.
8 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A method of conducting an electronic commerce transaction, comprising the steps of:
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creating an attribute certificate for each prospective participant to said transaction, wherein each of said attribute certificates contains only transaction information, said transaction information comprising one or more transaction elements; submitting each of said attribute certificates to a third party; validating each of said attribute certificates by said third party, said validation step comprising at least the steps of; checking the accuracy of each transaction element; and deleting from said attribute certificate those transaction elements that are inaccurate; and making all validated attribute certificates available to each prospective participant to said transaction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A system for conducting an electronic commerce transaction, comprising:
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means for creating an attribute certificate for each prospective participant to said transactions, wherein each of said attribute certificates contains only transaction information, said transaction information comprising one or more transaction elements; means for submitting each of said attribute certificates to a third party; means for validating each of said attribute certificates by said third party, said validation step comprising at least; means for checking the accuracy of each transaction element; and means for deleting from said attribute certificate those transaction elements that are inaccurate; and means for making all validated attribute certificates available to each prospective participant to said transaction. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7)
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8. A computer program product for conducting an electronic commerce transaction recorded on computer-readable storage medium, comprising:
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computer-readable means for creating an attribute certificate for each prospective participant to said transaction, wherein each of said attribute certificates contains only transaction information, said transaction information comprising one or more transaction elements; computer-readable means for submitting each of said attribute certificates to a third party; computer-readable means for validating each of said attribute certificates by said third party, said validation step comprising; computer-readable means for checking the accuracy of each transaction element; and computer-readable means for deleting from said attribute certificate those transaction elements that are inaccurate; and computer-readable means for making all validated attribute certificates available to each prospective participant to said transaction. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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Specification