Obfuscating identity of a source entity affiliated with a communiqué in accordance with conditional directive provided by a receiving entity

• US 8,626,848 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2010
• Issued: 01/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Cohen, Alexander J., Jung, Edward K. Y., Levien, Royce A., Lord, Robert W., Malamud, Mark A., Mangione-Smith, William H., Rinaldo, John D. Jr., Tegreene, Clarence T.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHOUDHURY, AZIZUL Q
• Application Number:
  US12/802,139
• Publication Number:
  US 20110004940A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,321 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6254 by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0407 wherein the identity of one or more communicating identities is hidden cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for anonymous credentials or for identity based cryptographic systems H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]

Abstract

A computationally implemented method includes, but is not limited to: receiving a first communiqué that is affiliated with a source entity and that is directed to a receiving entity; and transmitting to the receiving entity, in lieu of the first communiqué, a second communiqué that is provided in accordance with one or more conditional directives to conditionally obfuscate identity of the source entity, the one or more conditional directives provided by the receiving entity. In addition to the foregoing, other method aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a first communiqué

that is affiliated with a source entity and that is directed to a receiving entity; and

transmitting to the receiving entity, using one or more processors, and in lieu of the first communiqué

, a second communiqué

that is provided in accordance with one or more conditional directives to conditionally obfuscate identity of the source entity, the one or more conditional directives provided by the receiving entity, the one or more conditional directives including one or more instructions to transmit the second communiqué

in lieu of the first communiqué

based at least in part on a determination of a presence of a particular third party in vicinity of the receiving entity, the determination being based, at least in part, on receiving entity data provided by the receiving entity via at least one of microblogging or tweeting, and wherein the transmitting to the receiving entity includes at least;

transmitting to the receiving entity, in lieu of the first communiqué

, the second communiqué

that is provided based, at least in part, on the received first communiqué and

in accordance with the one or more conditional directives, the second communiqué

being provided by modifying the first communiqué

in accordance with the one or more conditional directives, wherein the modifying the first communiqué

in accordance with the one or more conditional directives includes at least;

modifying the first communiqué

in accordance with the one or more conditional directives by replacing one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with one or more locum tenentes, the replacing of the one or more representations of the source entity including at least replacing, with one or more substitutes, at least one of one or more names associated with the source entity, one or more telephone numbers associated with the source entity or one or more email addresses associated with the source entity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving a first communiqué

that is affiliated with a source entity and that is directed to a receiving entity, comprises;

receiving the first communiqué

at one or more network nodes.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said receiving the first communiqué

at one or more network nodes, comprises;

receiving the first communiqué

at the one or more network nodes including receiving the first communiqué

at one or more network servers.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said receiving the first communiqué

at one or more network nodes, comprises;

receiving the first communiqué

at the one or more network nodes including receiving the first communiqué

at at least one of a telephone switch or a telephone exchange.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein said receiving the first communiqué

at one or more network nodes, comprises;

receiving the first communiqué

at the one or more network nodes including receiving the first communiqué

at least at one router.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said transmitting to the receiving entity, using one or more processors, and in lieu of the first communiqué

, a second communiqué

that is provided in accordance with one or more conditional directives to conditionally obfuscate identity of the source entity, the one or more conditional directives provided by the receiving entity, the one or more conditional directives including one or more instructions to transmit the second communiqué

in lieu of the first communiqué

based at least in part on a determination of a presence of a particular third party in vicinity of the receiving entity, the determination being based, at least in part, on receiving entity data provided by the receiving entity via at least one of microblogging or tweeting, comprises;

transmitting the second communiqué

via one or more communication networks.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying the first communiqué

in accordance with the one or more conditional directives by replacing one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with one or more locum tenentes, comprises;

replacing the one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with the one or more locum tenentes, the one or more representations to be replaced being one or more representations in header data form.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying the first communiqué

in accordance with the one or more conditional directives by replacing one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with one or more locum tenentes, comprises;

replacing the one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with the one or more locum tenentes, the one or more representations to be replaced being one or more representations in message content data form.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying the first communiqué

in accordance with the one or more conditional directives by replacing one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with one or more locum tenentes, comprises;

replacing the one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with the one or more locum tenentes, the one or more representations to be replaced being one or more representations in metadata form.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying the first communiqué

in accordance with the one or more conditional directives by replacing one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with one or more locum tenentes, comprises;

replacing the one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with the one or more locum tenentes by replacing one or more names associated with the source entity that are included in the first communiqué

with one or more substitutes.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying the first communiqué

in accordance with the one or more conditional directives by replacing one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with one or more locum tenentes, comprises;

replacing the one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with the one or more locum tenentes by replacing one or more telephone numbers associated with the source entity that are included in the first communiqué

with one or more substitutes.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying the first communiqué

in accordance with the one or more conditional directives by replacing one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with one or more locum tenentes, comprises;

replacing the one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with the one or more locum tenentes by replacing one or more addresses associated with the source entity that are included in the first communiqué

with one or more substitutes.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said means for replacing the one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with the one or more locum tenentes by replacing one or more addresses associated with the source entity that are included in the first communiqué

with one or more substitutes, comprises;

replacing the one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with the one or more locum tenentes by replacing one or more of an email address, an Internet Protocol (IP) address, or a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) associated with the source entity that are included in the first communiqué

with one or more substitutes.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying the first communiqué

in accordance with the one or more conditional directives by replacing one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with one or more locum tenentes, comprises;

replacing the one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with the one or more locum tenentes by replacing one or more images associated with the source entity that are included in the first communiqué

with one or more substitutes.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying the first communiqué

in accordance with the one or more conditional directives by replacing one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with one or more locum tenentes, comprises;

replacing the one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with the one or more locum tenentes by replacing one or more voice signatures associated with the source entity that are included in the first communiqué

with one or more substitutes.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying the first communiqué

in accordance with the one or more conditional directives by replacing one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with one or more locum tenentes, comprises;

replacing the one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with the one or more locum tenentes by replacing the one or more representations with modified versions of the one or more representations.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying the first communiqué

in accordance with the one or more conditional directives by replacing one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with one or more locum tenentes, comprises;

replacing the one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with the one or more locum tenentes by replacing the one or more representations with one or more direct substitutes.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying the first communiqué

in accordance with the one or more conditional directives by replacing one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with one or more locum tenentes, comprises;

replacing the one or more representations of the source entity included in the first communiqué

with the one or more locum tenentes by replacing the one or more representations with one or more indirect substitutes.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein said transmitting to the receiving entity, using one or more processors, and in lieu of the first communiqué

, a second communiqué

that is provided in accordance with one or more conditional directives to conditionally obfuscate identity of the source entity, the one or more conditional directives provided by the receiving entity, the one or more conditional directives including one or more instructions to transmit the second communiqué

in lieu of the first communiqué

based at least in part on a determination of a presence of a particular third party in vicinity of the receiving entity, the determination being based, at least in part, on receiving entity data provided by the receiving entity via at least one of microblogging or tweeting, comprises;

transmitting the second communiqué

, in part, as a function of location of the receiving entity.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said transmitting the second communiqué

, in part, as a function of location of the receiving entity, comprises;

transmitting the second communiqué

partly in response to determining that the receiving entity is at one or more specified locations.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein said transmitting to the receiving entity, using one or more processors, and in lieu of the first communiqué

, a second communiqué

that is provided in accordance with one or more conditional directives to conditionally obfuscate identity of the source entity, the one or more conditional directives provided by the receiving entity, the one or more conditional directives including one or more instructions to transmit the second communiqué

in lieu of the first communiqué

based at least in part on a determination of a presence of a particular third party in vicinity of the receiving entity, the determination being based, at least in part, on receiving entity data provided by the receiving entity via at least one of microblogging or tweeting, comprises;

transmitting the second communiqué

, in part, as a function of time with respect to the receiving entity.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said transmitting the second communiqué

, in part, as a function of time with respect to the receiving entity, comprises;

transmitting the second communiqué

only at one or more specified times of a day with respect to the receiving entity.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein said transmitting the second communiqué

, in part, as a function of time with respect to the receiving entity, comprises;

transmitting the second communiqué

only at one or more specified times of a calendar year with respect to the receiving entity.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein said transmitting to the receiving entity, using one or more processors, and in lieu of the first communiqué

, a second communiqué

that is provided in accordance with one or more conditional directives to conditionally obfuscate identity of the source entity, the one or more conditional directives provided by the receiving entity, the one or more conditional directives including one or more instructions to transmit the second communiqué

in lieu of the first communiqué

based at least in part on a determination of a presence of a particular third party in vicinity of the receiving entity, the determination being based, at least in part, on receiving entity data provided by the receiving entity via at least one of microblogging or tweeting, comprises;

transmitting the second communiqué

as a function of one or more environmental conditions of the receiving entity, the one or more environmental conditions including at least the presence of the particular third party in the vicinity of the receiving entity.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein said transmitting the second communiqué

as a function of one or more environmental conditions of the receiving entity, the one or more environmental conditions including at least the presence of a particular third party in the vicinity of the receiving entity, comprises;

transmitting the second communiqué

in response to determining occurrence of at least one specified environmental condition associated with the receiving entity.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein said transmitting to the receiving entity, using one or more processors, and in lieu of the first communiqué

, a second communiqué

that is provided in accordance with one or more conditional directives to conditionally obfuscate identity of the source entity, the one or more conditional directives provided by the receiving entity, the one or more conditional directives including one or more instructions to transmit the second communiqué

in lieu of the first communiqué

based at least in part on a determination of a presence of a particular third party in vicinity of the receiving entity, the determination being based, at least in part, on receiving entity data provided by the receiving entity via at least one of microblogging or tweeting, comprises;

transmitting the second communiqué

in response to at least determining that the first communiqué

includes data that associates the first communiqué

with the source entity.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein said transmitting the second communiqué

in response to at least determining that the first communiqué

includes data that associates the first communiqué

with the source entity, comprises;

transmitting the second communiqué

in response to at least determining that the first communiqué

includes metadata that associates the source entity with the first communiqué

.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein said transmitting the second communiqué

in response to at least determining that the first communiqué

includes data that associates the first communiqué

with the source entity, comprises;

transmitting the second communiqué

in response to at least determining that the first communiqué

includes message content data that associates the source entity with the first communiqué

.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein said transmitting the second communiqué

in response to at least determining that the first communiqué

includes data that associates the first communiqué

with the source entity, comprises;

transmitting the second communiqué

in response to at least determining that the first communiqué

includes one or more representations of the source entity.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein said transmitting the second communiqué

in response to at least determining that the first communiqué

includes one or more representations of the source entity, comprises;

transmitting the second communiqué

in response to determining that the first communiqué

includes at least a telephone number associated with the source entity.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein said transmitting the second communiqué

in response to at least determining that the first communiqué

includes one or more representations of the source entity, comprises;

transmitting the second communiqué

in response to determining that the first communiqué

includes at least an image associated with the source entity.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein said transmitting the second communiqué

in response to at least determining that the first communiqué

includes one or more representations of the source entity, comprises;

transmitting the second communiqué

in response to determining that the first communiqué

includes at least a voice signature associated with the source entity.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein said transmitting to the receiving entity, using one or more processors, and in lieu of the first communiqué

, a second communiqué

that is provided in accordance with one or more conditional directives to conditionally obfuscate identity of the source entity, the one or more conditional directives provided by the receiving entity, the one or more conditional directives including one or more instructions to transmit the second communiqué

in lieu of the first communiqué

based at least in part on a determination of a presence of a particular third party in vicinity of the receiving entity, the determination being based, at least in part, on receiving entity data provided by the receiving entity via at least one of microblogging or tweeting, comprises;

acquiring the one or more conditional directives prior to the transmitting of the second communiqué

.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein said acquiring the one or more conditional directives prior to the transmitting of the second communiqué

, comprises;

receiving the one or more conditional directives from the receiving entity.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein said receiving the one or more conditional directives from the receiving entity, comprises:

receiving the one or more conditional directives from the receiving entity including one or more directives authored by the receiving entity.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein said receiving the one or more conditional directives from the receiving entity, comprises:

receiving the one or more conditional directives including one or more directives that indicate one or more source entities whose identities are to be conditionally obfuscated.

37. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving a first communiqué

that is affiliated with a source entity and that is directed to a receiving entity comprises;

receiving, at one or more intermediate nodes, a first communiqué

that is affiliated with a source entity and that is directed to a receiving entity, the receiving including at least intercepting the first communiqué

based at least in part on a determination that the first communiqué

is directed to the receiving entity, wherein intercepting includes at least one of seizing, capturing, or interrupting.

38. The method of claim 1, wherein said transmitting to the receiving entity, using one or more processors, and in lieu of the first communiqué

, a second communiqué

that is provided in accordance with one or more conditional directives to conditionally obfuscate identity of the source entity, the one or more conditional directives provided by the receiving entity, the one or more conditional directives including one or more instructions to transmit the second communiqué

in lieu of the first communiqué

based at least in part on a determination of a presence of a particular third party in vicinity of the receiving entity, the determination being based, at least in part, on receiving entity data provided by the receiving entity via at least one of microblogging or tweeting, comprises;

transmitting to the receiving entity, in lieu of the first communiqué

, a second communiqué

that is provided in accordance with one or more conditional directives to conditionally obfuscate identity of the source entity, the one or more conditional directives provided by the receiving entity, the transmitting including at least transmitting the second communiqué

in lieu of the first communiqué

based at least in part on a determination that the first communiqué

includes data that associates the first communiqué

with the source entity, the data including at least one of a telephone number, an image, or a voice signature.