System and method for electronic transmission, storage, and retrieval of authenticated electronic original documents

• US 7,162,635 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2000
• Issued: 01/09/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: eOriginal, Inc.
• Original Assignee: eOriginal, Inc.
• Inventors: Bisbee, Stephen F., Peterson, Ellis K., Becker, Keith F., Moskowitz, Jack J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Moise; Emmanuel L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PYZOCHA, MICHAEL J
• Application Number:
  US09/737,325
• Publication Number:
  US 20010002485A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,217 Days
• Field of Search: 713/176, 713/189
• US Class Current: 713/176
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/389 Keeping log of transactions for guaranteeing non-repudiation of a transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/12 Card verification
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3213 using tickets or tokens, e.g. Kerberos network architectures or network communication protocols for entities authentication using tickets in a packet data network H04L63/0807
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3236 using cryptographic hash functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3297 involving time stamps, e.g. generation of time stamps
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/50 using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments include methods of handling stored electronic original objects that have been created by signing information objects by respective transfer agents, submitting signed information objects to a trusted custodial utility, validating the submitted signed information objects by at least testing the integrity of the contents of each signed information object and the validity of the signature of the respective transfer agent, and applying to each validated information object a date-time stamp and a digital signature and authentication certificate of the trusted custodial utility. One method includes re-validating an electronic original object by verifying the digital signature of the trusted custodial utility applied to the object and applying to the re-validated object a current date-time stamp and a digital signature and current authentication certificate of the trusted custodial utility. Other methods include handling information objects that are transferable records according to specified business rules.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of handling stored authoritative copy objects that have been created by signing information objects by respective transfer agents, submitting signed information objects to a trusted third-party repository of information objects, validating the submitted signed information objects by at least testing the integrity of the contents of each signed information object and the validity of the signature of the respective transfer agent, and applying a wrapper to each validated information object including a current date-time stamp and a digital signature and authentication certificate of the trusted third-party repository of information objects, which handles at least one authoritative copy object based on rules established by an owner of the at least one authoritative copy object, comprising the steps of:

establishing at least one type of information object as an authoritative copy object that is not to be released by a trusted third-party repository of information objects;

enabling at least one selected user to access at least one selected type of authoritative copy object;

identifying at least one type of authoritative copy object required to conclude a deal; and

identifying and controlling at least one selected authoritative copy object as a transferable record.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein based on rules established by an owner of an authoritative copy object requiring execution as part of concluding the deal, the trusted third-party repository of information objects notifies at least one participant in the deal when the authoritative copy object is received by the trusted third-party repository of information objects.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of creating an object-inventory from at least one stored authoritative object that is a transferable record and is required to conclude the deal, wherein the object-inventory includes a current date-time stamp and a digital signature and authentication certificate of the trusted third-party repository of information objects, and the object-inventory comprises a wrapper that includes object identifiers that respectively point to the transferable record and at least one signature block of at least one participant in the deal, the at least one participant'"'"'s signature block comprising a hash of a combination of a master copy of the transferable record and the at least one participant'"'"'s digitized signature.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the object-inventory further includes metadata summarizing the deal.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein in addition to the one stored authoritative copy object, at least one wrapped signature block is included in the object inventory, the object inventory and information objects referenced therein being treated by the trusted third-party repository of information objects as an authoritative copy.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein in addition to the one stored authoritative copy object, at least one counterpart signature page is included in the object inventory, the object inventory and information objects referenced therein being treated by the trusted third-party repository of information objects as an authoritative copy.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving, by the trusted third-party repository of information objects, a request from a user to retrieve content of an authoritative copy object; and

checking owner-established rules associated with the type of the authoritative copy object identified in the request to determine whether the user has been enabled to access the type of authoritative copy object identified in the request.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the request indicates that the content is to be retrieved to add at least one signature, and if the user has been enabled to access the type of the authoritative copy object identified in the request, the trusted third-party repository of information objects carries out the steps of:

stripping all signatures from the authoritative copy object identified in the request, thereby leaving only the content of the authoritative copy object;

forming a wrapper that includes the content of the authoritative copy object identified in the request, a current date-time indication, and the trusted third-party repository of information objects'"'"' digital signature and authentication certificate, and

communicating the wrapper to the user.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the user receives the wrapper and extracts the content for rendering by the user.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the user prints the content.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the user queries the trusted third-party repository of information objects for parties who may have signed the authoritative copy object corresponding to the content rendered by the user, and in response to the query, the trusted third-party repository of information objects unwraps the authoritative copy object, extracts any signer information included in the authoritative copy object, forms a data structure comprising the signer information, and communicates the data structure to the user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein a signed-by designation, distinct from a signer'"'"'s mark, is associated with a represented signer information.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein after rendering the content, a user forms a respective signature block from the content and the user'"'"'s digital signature, commits to be bound by its digital signature, and submits the signature block to the trusted third-party repository of information objects.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the user'"'"'s signature block comprises signer information that includes at least a hash of the content and the user'"'"'s digital signature and certificate information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the signer information includes at least one authenticated attribute.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein a plurality of users submit respective signature blocks in parallel to the trusted third-party repository of information objects.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the signature blocks are stored by the trusted third-party repository of information objects as recursively applied wrappers.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the trusted third-party repository of information objects extracts information from the signature block submitted by the user and, based on the extracted information, verifies an identity of the user and an integrity of the content used to form the signature block.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the trusted third-party repository of information objects verifies the integrity of content by computing a hash of the content and comparing the computed hash to a hash included in a signer information portion of the signature block.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein after the signature block is submitted to the trusted third-party repository of information objects, the trusted third-party repository of information objects retrieves the corresponding authoritative copy object, unwraps the authoritative copy object to retrieve the content of the authoritative copy object, and forms a wrapper that includes the retrieved content, the submitted signature block, a current date-time indication and the trusted third-party repository of information objects'"'"' digital signature and authentication certificate, whereby the wrapper comprises a new authoritative copy object.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the user'"'"'s signature block includes an unauthenticated attribute field, and the trusted third-party repository of information objects adds the current date-time indication to the unauthenticated attribute field to indicate a time of receipt by the trusted third-party repository of information objects of the user'"'"'s signature block.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein a plurality of users submit respective signature blocks to the trusted third-party repository of information objects, and the submitted signature blocks are placed in at least one of a plurality of recursively applied wrappers.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the trusted third-party repository of information objects notifies the owner of the authoritative copy object corresponding to the content, based on a rule established by the owner, that the signature block has been included in the wrapper.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the new authoritative copy object is a transferable record based on the established rules.

25. The method of claim 23, further comprising the steps of:

forwarding a rendering of the authoritative copy object to a designated agency or government entity for recordation;

retrieving or receiving a recorded authoritative copy object;

forming a different wrapper that includes the recorded authoritative copy object, a current date-time indication, the trusted third-party repository of information objects'"'"' digital signature and authentication certificate;

governing the storing, versioning and managing of a new authoritative copy object; and

notifying the owner of the completion of the steps.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising recording of the authoritative copy object by a designated agency or government entity.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one type of authoritative copy object is established as potential transferable records.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more users are authorized by the owner of at least one authoritative copy object to communicate an instruction to a first trusted third-party repository of information objects to transfer at least one identified authoritative copy object to a specified second trusted third-party repository of information objects comprising the steps of:

transferring from a first trusted third-party repository of information objects to a second trusted third-party repository of information objects at least one authoritative copy object;

receiving, receipting and controlling by a second trusted third-party repository of information objects of at least one authoritative copy on verification of successful transfer; and

impairing, removing or altering by a first trusted third-party repository of information objects of the non transferred authoritative copy object, as per instruction or established rules by the owner or owner'"'"'s agent, upon receipt of acknowledgement of successful transfer of an authoritative copy object from a second trusted third-party repository of information objects.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the transfer of at least one authoritative copy object from a first trusted third-party repository of information objects to a second trusted third-party repository of information objects comprising the steps of:

creation by a first trusted third-party repository of information objects of an object inventory that contains a list of at least authoritative copy object and other information objects to be transferred;

transfer by a first trusted third-party repository of information objects to a second trusted third-party repository of information objects at least one object inventory, information object and authoritative copy;

receiving, validating, storing and controlling by the second trusted third-party repository of information objects at least one object inventory, information object and authoritative copy;

using the object inventory by a second trusted third-party repository of information objects to ensure that all information objects are transferred;

creating a receipt by a second trusted third-party repository of information objects by applying to the object inventory a current date-time stamp and a digital signature and authentication certificate of a second trusted third-party repository of information objects;

sending the receipt created by a second trusted third-party repository of information objects to a first trusted third-party repository of information objects.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein a second trusted third-party repository of information objects applies to transferred authoritative copy objects a current date-time stamp and a digital signature and authentication certificate of the second trusted third-party repository of information objects and stores and assumes control of these information objects as per owner instructions.

31. A computer implemented method of handling stored authoritative copy objects that have been created by signing information objects by respective transfer agents, submitting signed information objects to a trusted third-party repository of information objects, validating the submitted signed information objects by at least testing the integrity of the contents of each signed information object and the validity of the signature of the respective transfer agent, and applying a wrapper to each validated information object including a current date-time stamp and a digital signature and authentication certificate of the trusted third-party repository of information objects, comprising the following steps by the trusted third-party repository of information objects:

receiving a request submitted by a user for retrieval of an authoritative copy object identified in the request;

determining whether the user has authority to submit the request; and

if the user is determined to have authority, carrying out the steps of;

retrieving the authoritative copy object identified in the request;

extracting from the retrieved authoritative copy object content information and at least one signature block;

extracting from the signature block signer information;

extracting at least one of a current date-time of a digitized signature included in the signer information and a current date-time of the trusted third-party repository of information objects'"'"' receipt of the signature block;

extracting from the signature block certificate information that includes signer identifying information;

forming a data structure from the extracted information such that upon rendering the content the information is properly placed with respect to the content and includes at least one forgery-resistant indicium that clearly identifies the rendered information as a copy; and

communicating the data structure to the user, the data structure communicated to the user representing an impaired version distinct from the unique authoritative storage copy that is not to be released by the trusted third-party repository of information objects.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the data structure is included in a wrapper that also includes a current date-time indication and the trusted third-party repository of information objects'"'"' digital signature and authentication certificate.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the data structure includes tags that guide placement of the information.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein a tag-based image file format is created that is clearly marked as a copy of an authoritative copy that is still held at the trusted third-party repository of information objects.

35. A computer implemented method of handling stored authoritative copy objects that have been created by signing information objects by respective transfer agents, submitting signed information objects to a trusted third-party repository of information objects, validating the submitted signed information objects by at least testing the integrity of the contents of each signed information object and the validity of the signature of the respective transfer agent, and applying a wrapper to each validated information object including a current date-time stamp and a digital signature and authentication certificate of the trusted third-party repository of information objects, which handles at least one authoritative copy object based on rules established by an owner of the at least one authoritative copy object, comprising the steps of:

authenticating an identity of the owner;

establishing at least one type of information object as an authoritative copy object that is not to be released by a trusted third-party repository of information objects;

enabling at least one selected user to access at least one selected type of authoritative copy object;

identifying at least one type of authoritative copy object required to conclude a deal;

identifying and controlling at least one selected authoritative copy object as a transferable record;

identifying at least one user able to authorize transfer of an interest in a transferable record; and

validating the owner'"'"'s right to act with respect to the deal.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein at least one type of authoritative copy object is established as potential transferable records.